It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the Jiangsu General Science Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:601500) share price down 12% in the last month. But looking back over the last year, the returns have actually been rather pleasing! To wit, it had solidly beat the market, up 30%.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 4.3%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just 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 Jiangsu General Science Technology saw its earnings per share (EPS) increase strongly. We don't think the exact number is a good guide to the sustainable growth rate, but we do think this sort of increase is impressive. So we're unsurprised to see the share price gaining ground. Strong growth like this can be evidence of a fundamental inflection point in the business, making it a good time to investigate the stock more closely.

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

We know that Jiangsu General Science Technology has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Jiangsu General Science Technology the TSR over the last 1 year was 32%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Jiangsu General Science Technology shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 32% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 1.2% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Jiangsu General Science Technology better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Jiangsu General Science Technology .

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com