Yahoo Finance Is Hornby's (LON:HRN) Share Price Gain Of 135% Well Earned?
It might seem bad, but the worst that can happen when you buy a stock (without leverage) is that its share price goes to zero. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. To wit, the Hornby PLC (LON:HRN) share price has flown 135% in the last three years. How nice for those who held the stock! It's also good to see the share price up 97% over the last quarter.
See our latest analysis for Hornby
Because Hornby made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
Hornby's revenue trended up 1.9% each year over three years. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. In comparison, the share price rise of 33% per year over the last three years is pretty impressive. We'd need to take a closer look at the revenue and profit trends to see whether the improvements might justify that sort of increase. It may be that the market is pretty optimistic about Hornby if you look to the bottom line.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Hornby's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Hornby has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 75% in the last twelve months. That certainly beats the loss of about 6% per year over the last half decade. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Hornby you should be aware of.
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.
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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