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If You Had Bought Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Stock Five Years Ago, You'd Be Sitting On A 95% Loss, Today

Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Spare a thought for those who held Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 95%. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 45%. There was little comfort for shareholders in the last week as the price declined a further 2.8%.

While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

See our latest analysis for Baytex Energy

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Baytex Energy 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 half a decade Baytex Energy reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 4.9% for each year. While far from catastrophic that is not good. If a business loses money, you want it to grow, so no surprises that the share price has dropped 45% each year in that time. We're generally averse to companies with declining revenues, but we're not alone in that. That is not really what the successful investors we know aim for.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

TSX:BTE Income Statement, October 12th 2019
TSX:BTE Income Statement, October 12th 2019

It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Baytex Energy

A Different Perspective

Investors in Baytex Energy had a tough year, with a total loss of 45%, against a market gain of about 4.6%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 45% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Baytex Energy by clicking this link.

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 CA 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.