It hasn't been the best quarter for Ur-Energy Inc. (TSE:URE) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 15% in that time. But that scarcely detracts from the really solid long term returns generated by the company over five years. Indeed, the share price is up an impressive 112% in that time. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it's cheap now. While the long term returns are impressive, we do have some sympathy for those who bought more recently, given the 23% drop, in the last year.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

Check out our latest analysis for Ur-Energy

Because Ur-Energy made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. 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 5 years Ur-Energy saw its revenue shrink by 27% per year. Given that scenario, we wouldn't have expected the share price to rise 16% per year, but that's what it did. It just goes to show tht the market is forward looking, and it's not always easy to predict the future based on past trends. Still, we are a bit cautious in this kind of situation.

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

This free interactive report on Ur-Energy's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Ur-Energy had a tough year, with a total loss of 23%, against a market gain of about 25%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 16% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Ur-Energy (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.