Yahoo Finance Shareholders 35% loss in P.A.M. Transportation Services (NASDAQ:PTSI) partly attributable to the company's decline in earnings over past year
P.A.M. Transportation Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTSI) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 12% in the last week. But that doesn't change the reality of under-performance over the last twelve months. The cold reality is that the stock has dropped 35% in one year, under-performing the market.
The recent uptick of 12% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.
See our latest analysis for P.A.M. Transportation Services
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just 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.
Unfortunately P.A.M. Transportation Services reported an EPS drop of 81% for the last year. This fall in the EPS is significantly worse than the 35% the share price fall. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have expected earnings to drop faster.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on P.A.M. Transportation Services' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
A Different Perspective
P.A.M. Transportation Services shareholders are down 35% for the year, but the market itself is up 23%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 3%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. Take risks, for example - P.A.M. Transportation Services has 3 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: most of them are flying under the radar).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
