Yahoo Finance Shareholders in Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) are in the red if they invested a year ago
It's easy to feel disappointed if you buy a stock that goes down. But sometimes a share price fall can have more to do with market conditions than the performance of the specific business. So while the Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) share price is down 11% in the last year, the total return to shareholders (which includes dividends) was -6.9%. And that total return actually beats the market decline of 15%. On the bright side, the stock is actually up 7.0% in the last three years.
With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.
Check out our latest analysis for Becton Dickinson
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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 twelve months during which the Becton Dickinson share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 39%. Of course, the situation might betray previous over-optimism about growth.
It's surprising to see the share price fall so much, despite the improved EPS. So it's well worth checking out some other metrics, too.
Given the yield is quite low, at 1.5%, we doubt the dividend can shed much light on the share price. Revenue was fairly steady year on year, which isn't usually such a bad thing. However, it is certainly possible the market was expecting an uptick in revenue, and that the share price fall reflects that disappointment.
The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
Becton Dickinson is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Becton Dickinson's TSR for the last 1 year was -6.9%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
Although it hurts that Becton Dickinson returned a loss of 6.9% in the last twelve months, the broader market was actually worse, returning a loss of 15%. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 4%, each year, over five years. In the best case scenario the last year is just a temporary blip on the journey to a brighter future. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Becton Dickinson better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Becton Dickinson you should know about.
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
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.
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