Yahoo Finance Investing in Alcon (VTX:ALC) five years ago would have delivered you a 29% gain
Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. And while active stock picking involves risks (and requires diversification) it can also provide excess returns. For example, the Alcon Inc. (VTX:ALC) share price is up 28% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market return of around 16% (ignoring dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 17% , including dividends .
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
Check out our latest analysis for Alcon
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
During the five years of share price growth, Alcon moved from a loss to profitability. That's generally thought to be a genuine positive, so investors may expect to see an increasing share price.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that Alcon has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling Alcon stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Alcon has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 17% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 5% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. Before forming an opinion on Alcon you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.
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 Swiss exchanges.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.
