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The main point of investing for the long term is to make money. Furthermore, you'd generally like to see the share price rise faster than the market But AUB Group Limited (ASX:AUB) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 19% over five years, which is below the market return. Unfortunately the share price is down 2.8% in the last year.
View our latest analysis for AUB Group
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.
Over half a decade, AUB Group managed to grow its earnings per share at 3.5% a year. This EPS growth is remarkably close to the 3.6% average annual increase in the share price. This indicates that investor sentiment towards the company has not changed a great deal. In fact, the share price seems to largely reflect the EPS growth.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
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. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on AUB Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for AUB Group the TSR over the last 5 years was 45%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
AUB Group provided a TSR of 1.1% over the last twelve months. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 7.7% per year for five years. It's quite possible the business continues to execute with prowess, even as the share price gains are slowing. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest you check here to see what price insiders were buying at.