Yahoo Finance Leonteq (VTX:LEON) investors are sitting on a loss of 43% if they invested a year ago
Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. That downside risk was realized by Leonteq AG (VTX:LEON) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 47%. That's well below the market return of 10%. We note that it has not been easy for shareholders over three years, either; the share price is down 42% in that time. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 23% in the last 90 days.
So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
See our latest analysis for Leonteq
In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
Unhappily, Leonteq had to report a 87% decline in EPS over the last year. This fall in the EPS is significantly worse than the 47% the share price fall. So despite the weak per-share profits, some investors are probably relieved the situation wasn't more difficult.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
This free interactive report on Leonteq's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Leonteq the TSR over the last 1 year was -43%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 10% in the last year, Leonteq shareholders lost 43% (even including dividends). 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 4% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Leonteq better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Leonteq you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.
We will like Leonteq better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
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.
