By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Co., Ltd. (SHSE:900934) shareholders have seen the share price rise 29% over three years, well in excess of the market return (19%, not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 2.7% in the last year , including dividends .

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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 three years of share price growth, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels moved from a loss to profitability. So we would expect a higher share price over the period.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels will grow revenue in the future.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels' TSR for the last 3 years was 38%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 2.7% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 1.6% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

Of course Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels 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 CN 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.