Did You Miss USA Truck's (NASDAQ:USAK) Whopping 442% Share Price Gain?
For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. When you find (and hold) a big winner, you can markedly improve your finances. For example, the USA Truck, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAK) share price is up a whopping 442% in the last year, a handsome return in a single year. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 67% gain in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results, released recently - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report. Unfortunately the longer term returns are not so good, with the stock falling 42% in the last three years.
View our latest analysis for USA Truck
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
USA Truck went from making a loss to reporting a profit, in the last year.
When a company has just transitioned to profitability, earnings per share growth is not always the best way to look at the share price action.
We think that the revenue growth of 5.5% could have some investors interested. Many businesses do go through a phase where they have to forgo some profits to drive business development, and sometimes its for the best.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
A Different Perspective
We're pleased to report that USA Truck shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 442% over one year. That certainly beats the loss of about 1.8% per year over the last half decade. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - USA Truck has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is concerning) we think you should know about.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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