The past year for Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) investors has not been profitable

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While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Johnson Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ:JOUT) share price has gained 17% in the last three months. But that is minimal compensation for the share price under-performance over the last year. In fact the stock is down 37% in the last year, well below the market return.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

See our latest analysis for Johnson Outdoors

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Unfortunately Johnson Outdoors reported an EPS drop of 55% for the last year. This fall in the EPS is significantly worse than the 37% the share price fall. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have expected earnings to drop faster.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

earnings-per-share-growth
earnings-per-share-growth

This free interactive report on Johnson Outdoors' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Johnson Outdoors shareholders are down 36% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 9.3%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 3%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Johnson Outdoors (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

But note: Johnson Outdoors may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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