How Much Did Four Corners Property Trust's(NYSE:FCPT) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Year?

Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Unfortunately the Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) share price slid 14% over twelve months. That's disappointing when you consider the market returned 15%. At least the damage isn't so bad if you look at the last three years, since the stock is down 2.5% in that time. On top of that, the share price is down 8.0% in the last week.

View our latest analysis for Four Corners Property Trust

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 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.

Unhappily, Four Corners Property Trust had to report a 1.6% decline in EPS over the last year. The share price decline of 14% is actually more than the EPS drop. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, a year ago.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. 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 Four Corners Property Trust'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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Four Corners Property Trust's TSR for the last year was -9.4%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Four Corners Property Trust shareholders are down 9.4% for the year, (even including dividends), but the broader market is up 15%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Investors are up over three years, booking 3.8% per year, much better than the more recent returns. The recent sell-off could be an opportunity if the business remains sound, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long-term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Four Corners Property Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Four Corners Property Trust you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

Four Corners Property Trust is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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