Yahoo Finance Investors Who Bought Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Shares Three Years Ago Are Now Down 75%
If you love investing in stocks you're bound to buy some losers. Long term Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. Sadly for them, the share price is down 75% in that time. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 62% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 22% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.
Check out our latest analysis for Uniti Group
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
During the unfortunate three years of share price decline, Uniti Group actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 15% per year. This is quite a puzzle, and suggests there might be something temporarily buoying the share price. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.
Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.
We note that, in three years, revenue has actually grown at a 6.7% annual rate, so that doesn't seem to be a reason to sell shares. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Uniti Group more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that Uniti Group has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? You can see what analysts are predicting for Uniti Group in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Uniti Group's TSR for the last 3 years was -67%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
The last twelve months weren't great for Uniti Group shares, which cost holders 60% , including dividends , while the market was up about 5.2%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Shareholders have lost 31% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. Although Warren Buffett famously said he likes to 'buy when there is blood on the streets', he also focusses on high quality stocks with solid prospects. Before forming an opinion on Uniti Group you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.
But note: Uniti Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US 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.
