In This Article:
In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But in any portfolio, there will be mixed results between individual stocks. So we wouldn't blame long term Halcyon Agri Corporation Limited (SGX:5VJ) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 42% over a half decade.
Check out our latest analysis for Halcyon Agri
Halcyon Agri isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
In the last half decade, Halcyon Agri saw its revenue increase by 31% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. The share price drop of 10% per year over five years would be considered let down. You could say that the market has been harsh, given the top line growth. So now is probably an apt time to look closer at the stock, if you think it has potential.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.
What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
Investors should note that there's a difference between Halcyon Agri's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Dividends have been really beneficial for Halcyon Agri shareholders, and that cash payout explains why its total shareholder loss of 40%, over the last 5 years, isn't as bad as the share price return.
A Different Perspective
Halcyon Agri shareholders are down 8.2% for the year, but the market itself is up 4.6%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 9.8% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. If you would like to research Halcyon Agri in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.