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The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. For example, the Eckoh plc (LON:ECK) share price is up 26% in the last year, clearly besting than the market return of around -1.9% (not including dividends). That's a solid performance by our standards! In contrast, the longer term returns are negative, since the share price is 2.6% lower than it was three years ago.
View our latest analysis for Eckoh
Given that Eckoh only made minimal earnings in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue to gauge its business development. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.
In the last year Eckoh saw its revenue grow by 5.4%. That's not great considering the company is losing money. The modest growth is probably largely reflected in the share price, which is up 26%. While not a huge gain tht seems pretty reasonable. It could be worth keeping an eye on this one, especially if growth accelerates.
The graphic below shows how revenue and earnings have changed as management guided the business forward. If you want to see cashflow, you can click on the chart.
This free interactive report on Eckoh's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
We've already covered Eckoh's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Eckoh's TSR of 28% for the year exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.
A Different Perspective
We're pleased to report that Eckoh shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 28% over one year. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 2.3% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. 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.