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Investors in FRP Holdings (NASDAQ:FRPH) have made a decent return of 35% over the past five years

When you buy and hold a stock for the long term, you definitely want it to provide a positive return. Furthermore, you'd generally like to see the share price rise faster than the market. Unfortunately for shareholders, while the FRP Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPH) share price is up 35% in the last five years, that's less than the market return. Zooming in, the stock is actually down 3.5% in the last year.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for FRP Holdings

We don't think that FRP Holdings' modest trailing twelve month profit has the market's full attention at the moment. We think revenue is probably a better guide. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

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In the last 5 years FRP Holdings saw its revenue grow at 2.1% per year. Put simply, that growth rate fails to impress. It's probably fair to say that the modest growth is reflected in the modest share price gain of 6% per year. It seems likely that we'll have to zoom in on the data, including profits, to understand if there is an opportunity here.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of FRP Holdings' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Although it hurts that FRP Holdings returned a loss of 3.5% in the last twelve months, the broader market was actually worse, returning a loss of 9.0%. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 6%, each year, over five years. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for FRP Holdings that you should be aware of.

FRP Holdings is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.