Latest news with #SThreeplc
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SThree (LON:STEM) investors are sitting on a loss of 43% if they invested a year ago
Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. That downside risk was realized by SThree plc (LON:STEM) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 46%. That falls noticeably short of the market return of around 4.8%. Even if you look out three years, the returns are still disappointing, with the share price down35% in that time. 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. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. 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 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). Unhappily, SThree had to report a 12% decline in EPS over the last year. The share price decline of 46% is actually more than the EPS drop. Unsurprisingly, given the lack of EPS growth, the market seems to be more cautious about the stock. The less favorable sentiment is reflected in its current P/E ratio of 5.93. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on SThree's earnings, revenue and cash flow. As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. We note that for SThree the TSR over the last 1 year was -43%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. Investors in SThree had a tough year, with a total loss of 43% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 4.8%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 5% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, 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 SThree better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - SThree has 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about. SThree is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies this free list of growing 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 British exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SThree's (LON:STEM) Dividend Will Be £0.092
The board of SThree plc (LON:STEM) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 6th of June, with investors receiving £0.092 per share. The dividend yield of 5.9% is still a nice boost to shareholder returns, despite the cut. Our free stock report includes 2 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in SThree. Read for free now. Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, SThree was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business. Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 29.8%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 52%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis. View our latest analysis for SThree The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from £0.14 total annually to £0.143. Its dividends have grown at less than 1% per annum over this time frame. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited. Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Earnings per share has been crawling upwards at 4.2% per year. While EPS growth is quite low, SThree has the option to increase the payout ratio to return more cash to shareholders. Overall, we think that SThree could make a reasonable income stock, even though it did cut the dividend this year. While the payout ratios are a good sign, we are less enthusiastic about the company's dividend record. The dividend looks okay, but there have been some issues in the past, so we would be a little bit cautious. Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've identified 2 warning signs for SThree (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is There Now An Opportunity In SThree plc (LON:STEM)?
SThree plc (LON:STEM), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the LSE over the last few months, increasing to UK£3.63 at one point, and dropping to the lows of UK£2.51. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether SThree's current trading price of UK£2.51 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let's take a look at SThree's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. See our latest analysis for SThree According to our valuation model, SThree seems to be fairly priced at around 12.88% above our intrinsic value, which means if you buy SThree today, you'd be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe the company's true value is £2.22, there's only an insignificant downside when the price falls to its real value. In addition to this, SThree has a low beta, which suggests its share price is less volatile than the wider market. Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. However, with an extremely negative double-digit change in profit expected over the next couple of years, near-term growth is certainly not a driver of a buy decision. It seems like high uncertainty is on the cards for SThree, at least in the near future. Are you a shareholder? Currently, STEM appears to be trading around its fair value, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock beneficial for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on the stock, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping tabs on STEM for a while, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. The stock appears to be trading at fair value, which means there's less benefit from mispricing. In addition to this, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven't considered today, which can help crystalize your views on STEM should the price fluctuate below its true value. With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for SThree you should be mindful of and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable. If you are no longer interested in SThree, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is There Now An Opportunity In SThree plc (LON:STEM)?
SThree plc (LON:STEM), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the LSE over the last few months, increasing to UK£3.63 at one point, and dropping to the lows of UK£2.51. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether SThree's current trading price of UK£2.51 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let's take a look at SThree's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. See our latest analysis for SThree According to our valuation model, SThree seems to be fairly priced at around 12.88% above our intrinsic value, which means if you buy SThree today, you'd be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe the company's true value is £2.22, there's only an insignificant downside when the price falls to its real value. In addition to this, SThree has a low beta, which suggests its share price is less volatile than the wider market. Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. However, with an extremely negative double-digit change in profit expected over the next couple of years, near-term growth is certainly not a driver of a buy decision. It seems like high uncertainty is on the cards for SThree, at least in the near future. Are you a shareholder? Currently, STEM appears to be trading around its fair value, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock beneficial for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on the stock, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping tabs on STEM for a while, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. The stock appears to be trading at fair value, which means there's less benefit from mispricing. In addition to this, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven't considered today, which can help crystalize your views on STEM should the price fluctuate below its true value. With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for SThree you should be mindful of and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable. If you are no longer interested in SThree, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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. Sign in to access your portfolio
