Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 17% in the last week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been disappointing. Like an arid lake in a warming world, shareholder value has evaporated, with the share price down 67% in that time. So the bounce should be viewed in that context. You could argue that the sell-off was too severe.

While the stock has risen 17% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

View our latest analysis for Entravision Communications

Entravision Communications isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.

In the last twelve months, Entravision Communications increased its revenue by 16%. We think that is pretty nice growth. Unfortunately it seems investors wanted more, because the share price is down 67% in that time. It is of course possible that the business will still deliver strong growth, it will just take longer than expected to do it. To our minds it isn't enough to just look at revenue, anyway. Always consider when profits will flow.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Entravision Communications will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. As it happens, Entravision Communications' TSR for the last 1 year was -64%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 28% in the last year, Entravision Communications shareholders lost 64% (even including dividends). Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 4% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. 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. Take risks, for example - Entravision Communications has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

Entravision Communications is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American 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.