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The truth is that if you invest for long enough, you're going to end up with some losing stocks. But long term On the Beach Group plc (LON:OTB) shareholders have had a particularly rough ride in the last three year. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 52% drop in the share price over that period. And the ride hasn't got any smoother in recent times over the last year, with the price 47% lower in that time. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 21% in the last three months.
Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
View our latest analysis for On the Beach Group
On the Beach Group isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
Over the last three years, On the Beach Group's revenue dropped 56% per year. That means its revenue trend is very weak compared to other loss making companies. With no profits and falling revenue it is no surprise that investors have been dumping the stock, pushing the price down by 15% per year over that time. Bagholders or 'baggies' are people who buy more of a stock as the price collapses. They are then left 'holding the bag' if the shares turn out to be worthless. It could be a while before the company repays long suffering shareholders with share price gains.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think On the Beach Group will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).
A Different Perspective
We regret to report that On the Beach Group shareholders are down 47% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 1.5%. 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. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 7% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand On the Beach Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with On the Beach Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.