Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Share Prices Have Dropped 13% In The Last Three Years
Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 25% in the last quarter. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. Truth be told the share price declined 13% in three years and that return, Dear Reader, falls short of what you could have got from passive investing with an index fund.
Check out our latest analysis for Sensient Technologies
In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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).
Sensient Technologies saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 13% per year, over the last three years. In comparison the 4% compound annual share price decline isn't as bad as the EPS drop-off. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have previously priced some of the drop in.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Sensient Technologies' earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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 is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Sensient Technologies' TSR for the last 3 years was -6.2%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
Sensient Technologies shareholders gained a total return of 6.0% during the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 1.8% per year over five year. It is possible that returns will improve along with the business fundamentals. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Sensient Technologies better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Sensient Technologies 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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