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When you buy a stock there is always a possibility that it could drop 100%. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. One great example is Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA) which saw its share price drive 139% higher over five years. On top of that, the share price is up 22% in about a quarter.
On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.
View our latest analysis for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
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, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers managed to grow its earnings per share at 32% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 19% average annual increase in the share price. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. 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 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers' earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers' TSR for the last 5 years was 162%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 15% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 21% per year, is even more impressive. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers that you should be aware of before investing here.