The main point of investing for the long term is to make money. Better yet, you’d like to see the share price move up more than the market average. But Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 83% over five years, which is below the market return. Zooming in, the stock is actually down 14% in the last year.
Since it’s been a strong week for Old Dominion Freight Line shareholders, let’s have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.
In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company’s share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
Over half a decade, Old Dominion Freight Line managed to grow its earnings per share at 16% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 13% over the same period. So it seems the market isn’t so enthusiastic about the stock these days.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Old Dominion Freight Line’s earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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 Old Dominion Freight Line the TSR over the last 5 years was 87%, 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!
Old Dominion Freight Line shareholders are down 13% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 16%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 13% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares – and the price they paid.
