This week we saw the Shimao Services Holdings Limited (HKG:873) share price climb by 12%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been less than pleasing. The cold reality is that the stock has dropped 39% in one year, under-performing the market.

On a more encouraging note the company has added HK$444m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the one-year loss for shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Shimao Services Holdings

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 last year Shimao Services Holdings saw its earnings per share drop below zero. Some investors no doubt dumped the stock as a result. Of course, if the company can turn the situation around, investors will likely profit.

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

This free interactive report on Shimao Services Holdings' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We doubt Shimao Services Holdings shareholders are happy with the loss of 39% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 1.4%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. With the stock down 14% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

We will like Shimao Services Holdings 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 Hong Kong 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.