The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. To wit, the Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) share price is 36% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 18% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. Zooming out, the stock is actually down 2.6% in the last three years.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Encompass Health

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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 Encompass Health grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 38%. The similarity between the EPS growth and the 36% share price gain really stands out. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. It makes intuitive sense that the share price and EPS would grow at similar rates.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Encompass Health's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Encompass Health shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 37% over the last year. Of course, that includes the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 4%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. 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 Encompass Health better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Encompass Health is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Encompass Health is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing 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 American 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.