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The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But one can do better than that by picking better than average stocks (as part of a diversified portfolio). For example, the Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZWI) share price is up 39% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 17% (not including dividends). So that should have shareholders smiling. However, the longer term returns haven't been so impressive, with the stock up just 16% in the last three years.
So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 1 year and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.
Check out our latest analysis for Citizens Community Bancorp
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Citizens Community Bancorp was able to grow EPS by 57% in the last twelve months. This EPS growth is significantly higher than the 39% increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market isn't as excited about Citizens Community Bancorp as it was before. This could be an opportunity. The caution is also evident in the lowish P/E ratio of 7.68.
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. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Citizens Community Bancorp's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Citizens Community Bancorp the TSR over the last 1 year was 42%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Citizens Community Bancorp has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 42% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 5%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Citizens Community Bancorp 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 Citizens Community Bancorp (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.