The nature of investing is that you win some, and you lose some. Anyone who held Pengdu Agriculture & Animal Husbandry Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002505) over the last year knows what a loser feels like. To wit the share price is down 54% in that time. Even if you look out three years, the returns are still disappointing, with the share price down49% in that time. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 28% in the last three months.

After losing 8.5% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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.

During the last year Pengdu Agriculture & Animal HusbandryLtd saw its earnings per share drop below zero. While this may prove temporary, we'd consider it a negative, so it doesn't surprise us that the stock price is down. However, there may be an opportunity for investors if the company can recover.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Dive deeper into Pengdu Agriculture & Animal HusbandryLtd's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Pengdu Agriculture & Animal HusbandryLtd's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 16% in the twelve months, Pengdu Agriculture & Animal HusbandryLtd shareholders did even worse, losing 54%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 8% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.