Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous Metal Co.,Ltd (SHSE:600301) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 21% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been pleasing. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 99% in that time.

Although Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd has shed CN¥430m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

View our latest analysis for Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During five years of share price growth, Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 10% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 15% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth. This favorable sentiment is reflected in its (fairly optimistic) P/E ratio of 85.85.

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

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 8.1% in the twelve months, Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd shareholders did even worse, losing 20%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 15% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

We will like Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous MetalLtd 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 Chinese 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.