Yahoo Finance Some IGas Energy (LON:IGAS) Shareholders Have Copped A 97% Share Price Wipe Out
Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Anyone who held IGas Energy plc (LON:IGAS) for five years would be nursing their metaphorical wounds since the share price dropped 97% in that time. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 57% over the last twelve months. Furthermore, it's down 14% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.
We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.
View our latest analysis for IGas Energy
Given that IGas Energy didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. 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.
Over half a decade IGas Energy reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 11% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. So it's not that strange that the share price dropped 50% per year in that period. We don't think this is a particularly promising picture. Of course, the poor performance could mean the market has been too severe selling down. That can happen.
The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
If you are thinking of buying or selling IGas Energy stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 9.1% in the last year, IGas Energy shareholders lost 57%. 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 50% 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. You could get a better understanding of IGas Energy's growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Of course IGas Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.
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.
