While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the MNRB Holdings Berhad (KLSE:MNRB) share price has gained 13% in the last three months. But don't envy holders -- looking back over 5 years the returns have been really bad. Indeed, the share price is down 62% in the period. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. Of course, this could be the start of a turnaround.
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.
View our latest analysis for MNRB Holdings Berhad
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.
Looking back five years, both MNRB Holdings Berhad's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 18% per year. In this case, the EPS change is really very close to the share price drop of 17% a year. This implies that the market has had a fairly steady view of the stock. So it's fair to say the share price has been responding to changes in EPS.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We know that MNRB Holdings Berhad has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of MNRB Holdings Berhad, it has a TSR of -54% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
We regret to report that MNRB Holdings Berhad shareholders are down 7.9% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 3.4%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 9% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for MNRB Holdings Berhad you should know about.