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Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) Has Gifted Shareholders With A Fantastic 176% Total Return On Their Investment

When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. For example, the Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO) share price is up 94% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market decline of around 9.7% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 19% in the last year , including dividends .

Check out our latest analysis for Rio Tinto Group

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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).

Over half a decade, Rio Tinto Group managed to grow its earnings per share at 23% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 14% average annual increase in the share price. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-per-share-growth
earnings-per-share-growth

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 Rio Tinto Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Rio Tinto Group, it has a TSR of 176% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Rio Tinto Group shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 19% over the last year. That's including the dividend. However, that falls short of the 22% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Rio Tinto Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Rio Tinto Group has 4 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

Rio Tinto Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments 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 GB 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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