For many investors, the main point of stock picking is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But if you try your hand at stock picking, your risk returning less than the market. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term China Transinfo Technology Co., Ltd (SZSE:002373) shareholders, since the share price is down 50% in the last three years, falling well short of the market decline of around 11%. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 14% in the last three months. However, one could argue that the price has been influenced by the general market, which is down 9.0% in the same timeframe.

Since China Transinfo Technology has shed CN¥1.3b from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics.

Check out our latest analysis for China Transinfo Technology

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.

China Transinfo Technology saw its share price decline over the three years in which its EPS also dropped, falling to a loss. Due to the loss, it's not easy to use EPS as a reliable guide to the business. However, we can say we'd expect to see a falling share price in this scenario.

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

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that China Transinfo Technology shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 22% over one year. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 1.6% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. You could get a better understanding of China Transinfo Technology's growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

We will like China Transinfo Technology better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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.