In This Article:
Concurrent Technologies Plc (LON:CNC) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 13% in the last quarter. But that shouldn't obscure the pleasing returns achieved by shareholders over the last three years. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 10% in that time.
Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
Check out our latest analysis for Concurrent Technologies
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.
During the three years of share price growth, Concurrent Technologies actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) drop 1.7% per year.
The comparison of the modestly falling earnings per share, and the relatively resilient share price, suggests the market is less cautious about the stock, these days. Still, if EPS declines indefinitely, the share price will likely follow (especially if the company makes a loss).
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
Dive deeper into Concurrent Technologies' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Concurrent Technologies's 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. In the case of Concurrent Technologies, it has a TSR of 21% for the last 3 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
We're pleased to report that Concurrent Technologies shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 2.4% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 4% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Concurrent Technologies better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Concurrent Technologies , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.