Investing in Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI) a year ago would have delivered you a 14% gain
On average, over time, stock markets tend to rise higher. This makes investing attractive. But not every stock you buy will perform as well as the overall market. Over the last year the Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZWI) share price is up 11%, but that's less than the broader market return. Unfortunately the longer term returns are not so good, with the stock falling 1.4% in the last three years.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
Check out our latest analysis for Citizens Community Bancorp
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
During the last year, Citizens Community Bancorp actually saw its earnings per share drop 26%.
This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.
Citizens Community Bancorp's revenue actually dropped 9.6% over last year. So the fundamental metrics don't provide an obvious explanation for the share price gain.
The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
This free interactive report on Citizens Community Bancorp's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Citizens Community Bancorp the TSR over the last 1 year was 14%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
Citizens Community Bancorp shareholders are up 14% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 2% per year over five year. This could indicate that the company is winning over new investors, as it pursues its strategy. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
Of course Citizens Community Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.
