Yahoo Finance Volatility 101: Should Ricardo (LON:RCDO) Shares Have Dropped 28%?
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While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Ricardo plc (LON:RCDO) share price up 14% in a single quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been less than pleasing. In fact, the price has declined 28% in a year, falling short of the returns you could get by investing in an index fund.
See our latest analysis for Ricardo
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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 Ricardo reported an EPS drop of 20% for the last year. The share price decline of 28% is actually more than the EPS drop. This suggests the EPS fall has made some shareholders are more nervous about the business.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
This free interactive report on Ricardo's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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 Ricardo the TSR over the last year was -26%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 5.2% in the last year, Ricardo shareholders lost 26% (even including dividends). 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 2.4%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
Of course Ricardo may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
