Yahoo Finance Does Weis Markets' (NYSE:WMK) Share Price Gain of 30% Match Its Business Performance?
These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. To wit, the Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK) share price is 30% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 19% (not including dividends) in the same period. That's a solid performance by our standards! Looking back further, the share price is 25% higher than it was three years ago.
See our latest analysis for Weis Markets
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 imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
During the last year Weis Markets grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 63%. This EPS growth is significantly higher than the 30% increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market isn't as excited about Weis Markets as it was before. This could be an opportunity.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Weis Markets' 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). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Weis Markets the TSR over the last year was 34%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
We're pleased to report that Weis Markets shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 34% over one year. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 6% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. Before forming an opinion on Weis Markets you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.
We will like Weis Markets better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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