The past five years for ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) investors has not been profitable

Statistically speaking, long term investing is a profitable endeavour. But unfortunately, some companies simply don't succeed. For example, after five long years the ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) share price is a whole 63% lower. We certainly feel for shareholders who bought near the top. More recently, the share price has dropped a further 16% in a month. We do note, however, that the broader market is down 12% in that period, and this may have weighed on the share price.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for ProAssurance

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.

During five years of share price growth, ProAssurance moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

We don't think that the 0.9% is big factor in the share price, since it's quite small, as dividends go. Revenue is actually up 3.9% over the time period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that ProAssurance has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling ProAssurance stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for ProAssurance the TSR over the last 5 years was -55%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that ProAssurance shareholders are down 13% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 10%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 9% doled out over the last five years. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with ProAssurance (including 1 which is concerning) .

We will like ProAssurance better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, 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.

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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.