AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN) earnings and shareholder returns have been trending downwards for the last year, but the stock spikes 10% this past week

It’s nice to see the AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AMN) share price up 10% in a week. But in truth the last year hasn’t been good for the share price. In fact, the price has declined 45% in a year, falling short of the returns you could get by investing in an index fund.

Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they’re still in the red over the last year, so let’s see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.

View our latest analysis for AMN Healthcare Services

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 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).

Unfortunately AMN Healthcare Services reported an EPS drop of 34% for the last year. The share price decline of 45% is actually more than the EPS drop. Unsurprisingly, given the lack of EPS growth, the market seems to be more cautious about the stock. The less favorable sentiment is reflected in its current P/E ratio of 8.99.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It is of course excellent to see how AMN Healthcare Services has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. If you are thinking of buying or selling AMN Healthcare Services stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Investors in AMN Healthcare Services had a tough year, with a total loss of 45%, against a market gain of about 15%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 2% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand AMN Healthcare Services better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we’ve spotted with AMN Healthcare Services .

We will like AMN Healthcare Services 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.

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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.