Would Shareholders Who Purchased Hilton Grand Vacations' (NYSE:HGV) Stock Three Years Be Happy With The Share price Today?

As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But if you try your hand at stock picking, your risk returning less than the market. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE:HGV) shareholders, since the share price is down 37% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 46%. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 32% in the last year. The good news is that the stock is up 3.8% in the last week.

See our latest analysis for Hilton Grand Vacations

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. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Hilton Grand Vacations saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 18% per year, over the last three years. In comparison the 14% compound annual share price decline isn't as bad as the EPS drop-off. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have previously priced some of the drop in.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

A Different Perspective

Hilton Grand Vacations shareholders are down 32% for the year, but the broader market is up 19%. Of course the long term matters more than the short term, and even great stocks will sometimes have a poor year. Shareholders have lost 11% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. Although Baron Rothschild famously said to "buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own", he also focusses on high quality stocks with solid prospects. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Hilton Grand Vacations you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.