While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:000895) share price has gained 14% in the last three months. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years haven't been great. To be specific, the share price is a full 23% lower, while the market is down , with a return of (-22%)..

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

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 4.3% per year, over the last three years. This reduction in EPS is slower than the 14% annual reduction in the share price. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, in the past.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. We note that for Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd the TSR over the last 3 years was -23%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 20% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 9% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd you should know about.

Of course Henan Shuanghui Investment & DevelopmentLtd may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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.