Yahoo Finance Did You Manage To Avoid Premier Foods's (LON:PFD) 38% Share Price Drop?
Many investors define successful investing as beating the market average over the long term. But if you try your hand at stock picking, your risk returning less than the market. We regret to report that long term Premier Foods plc (LON:PFD) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 38% in three years, versus a market return of about 20%. And over the last year the share price fell 23%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted.
View our latest analysis for Premier Foods
Premier Foods isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
Over three years, Premier Foods grew revenue at 2.5% per year. Given it's losing money in pursuit of growth, we are not really impressed with that. The stock dropped 15% during that time. If revenue growth accelerates, we might see the share price bounce. But the real upside for shareholders will be if the company can start generating profits.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.
A Different Perspective
Investors in Premier Foods had a tough year, with a total loss of 23%, against a market gain of about 2.7%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 0.6% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
