Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 20% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. You would have done a lot better buying an index fund, since the stock has dropped 19% in that half decade.

With the stock having lost 3.4% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

See our latest analysis for Bank of Hawaii

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 flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the five years over which the share price declined, Bank of Hawaii's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 9.4% each year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 4% compound annual share price fall. The relatively muted share price reaction might be because the market expects the business to turn around.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Dive deeper into Bank of Hawaii's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Bank of Hawaii's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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 incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Bank of Hawaii, it has a TSR of -1.5% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Bank of Hawaii shareholders gained a total return of 11% during the year. But that was short of the market average. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 0.3% per year, over five years. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. If you would like to research Bank of Hawaii in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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.