If You Had Bought Welbilt Stock A Year Ago, You’d Be Sitting On A 18% Loss, Today
While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Welbilt, Inc. (NYSE:WBT) share price has gained 23% in the last three months. But that is minimal compensation for the share price under-performance over the last year. In fact, the price has declined 18% in a year, falling short of the returns you could get by investing in an index fund.
View our latest analysis for Welbilt
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
Unfortunately Welbilt reported an EPS drop of 44% for the last year. The share price fall of 18% isn’t as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. It may have been that the weak EPS was not as bad as some had feared.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
It’s good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That’s a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Welbilt’s earnings, revenue and cash flow.
A Different Perspective
Welbilt shareholders are down 18% for the year, but the broader market is up 5.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Fortunately the longer term story is brighter, with total returns averaging about 3.1% per year over three years. The recent sell-off could be an opportunity if the business remains sound, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long-term growth trend. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares – and the price they paid.
Welbilt is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
