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When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But on the bright side, if you buy shares in a high quality company at the right price, you can gain well over 100%. Long term Enerpac Tool Group Corp. (NYSE:EPAC) shareholders would be well aware of this, since the stock is up 195% in five years. It's also up 8.5% in about a month. But the price may well have benefitted from a buoyant market, since stocks have gained 6.4% in the last thirty days.
Since the stock has added US$81m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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).
Over half a decade, Enerpac Tool Group managed to grow its earnings per share at 24% a year. That makes the EPS growth particularly close to the yearly share price growth of 24%. This indicates that investor sentiment towards the company has not changed a great deal. In fact, the share price seems to largely reflect the EPS growth.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
It is of course excellent to see how Enerpac Tool Group has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Enerpac Tool Group, it has a TSR of 197% for the last 5 years. 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
It's good to see that Enerpac Tool Group has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 12% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 24% per year, is even more impressive. Potential buyers might understandably feel they've missed the opportunity, but it's always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. Is Enerpac Tool Group cheap compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
