We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. To wit, the Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH) share price has soared 351% over five years. This just goes to show the value creation that some businesses can achieve. On top of that, the share price is up 12% in about a quarter. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by reading our company report.

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.

See our latest analysis for Manhattan Associates

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. 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, Manhattan Associates achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 12% per year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 35% per year, over the same period. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth. This optimism is visible in its fairly high P/E ratio of 79.64.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Manhattan Associates has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think Manhattan Associates will grow revenue in the future.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Manhattan Associates shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 74% over the last year. That's better than the annualised return of 35% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. 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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Manhattan Associates that you should be aware of.

We will like Manhattan Associates 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 American exchanges.

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