Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. To wit, the Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. (TLV:DISI) share price is 60% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 33% (not including dividends) in the same period. If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! Zooming out, the stock is actually down 50% in the last three years.
The past week has proven to be lucrative for Discount Investment investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's one-year performance.
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
Discount Investment went from making a loss to reporting a profit, in the last year.
We think the growth looks very prospective, so we're not surprised the market liked it too. Generally speaking the profitability inflection point is a great time to research a company closely, lest you miss an opportunity to profit.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
This free interactive report on Discount Investment's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
We're pleased to report that Discount Investment shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 60% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 3% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Discount Investment better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Discount Investment (including 2 which are significant) .
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Israeli exchanges.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.