In This Article:
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
When you buy shares in a company, there is always a risk that the price drops to zero. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. For example, the Azeus Systems Holdings Ltd. (SGX:BBW) share price had more than doubled in just one year - up 220%. It's also good to see the share price up 126% over the last quarter. It is also impressive that the stock is up 93% over three years, adding to the sense that it is a real winner.
View our latest analysis for Azeus Systems Holdings
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. 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 last year Azeus Systems Holdings saw its earnings per share (EPS) increase strongly. We don't think the exact number is a good guide to the sustainable growth rate, but we do think this sort of increase is impressive. So we'd expect to see the share price higher. We're real advocates of letting inflection points like this guide our research as stock pickers.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Azeus Systems Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Azeus Systems Holdings's TSR for the last year was 230%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
We're pleased to report that Azeus Systems Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 230% over one year. That's including the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 2.6% per year over the last half decade. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. Before forming an opinion on Azeus Systems Holdings you might want to consider the cold hard cash it pays as a dividend. This free chart tracks its dividend over time.