It's normal to be annoyed when stock you own has a declining share price. But sometimes broader market conditions have more of an impact on prices than the actual business performance. So while the Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600458) share price is down 13% in the last year, the total return to shareholders (which includes dividends) was -11%. That's better than the market which declined 17% over the last year. Even if shareholders bought some time ago, they wouldn't be particularly happy: the stock is down 12% in three years. It's down 23% in about a quarter. Of course, this share price action may well have been influenced by the 13% decline in the broader market, throughout the period.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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 the unfortunate twelve months during which the Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 6.4%. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped.

It's fair to say that the share price does not seem to be reflecting the EPS growth. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics.

Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology's revenue is actually up 16% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards the stock.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology shareholders can take comfort that , including dividends,their trailing twelve month loss of 11% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 17%. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 0.6%, each year, over five years. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology you should be aware of.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.