Investors Who Bought International Paper (NYSE:IP) Shares A Year Ago Are Now Up 14%
We believe investing is smart because history shows that stock markets go higher in the long term. But not every stock you buy will perform as well as the overall market. Over the last year the International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) share price is up 14%, but that's less than the broader market return. Zooming out, the stock is actually down 14% in the last three years.
See our latest analysis for International Paper
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just 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.
Over the last twelve months, International Paper actually shrank its EPS by 49%.
This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Indeed, when EPS is declining but the share price is up, it often means the market is considering other factors.
We haven't seen International Paper increase dividend payments yet, so the yield probably hasn't helped drive the share higher. The slightly diminished revenue is not particularly impressive, at a glance, so that doesn't explain the share price boost.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
International Paper is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think International Paper will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates)
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of International Paper, it has a TSR of 19% for the last year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
International Paper shareholders gained a total return of 19% during the year. But that was short of the market average. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 1.6% per year over five year. This suggests the company might be improving over time. Before spending more time on International Paper it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
