You can invest in an index fund if you want to make sure your returns approximately match the overall market. But in any given year a good portion of stocks will fall short of that. Unfortunately for investors in Shenzhen Yan Tian Port Holdings Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:000088), the share price has slipped 18% in three years, falling short of the marketdecline of 16%.

Since Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd has shed CN¥405m 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 Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the unfortunate three years of share price decline, Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 8.6% per year. This is quite a puzzle, and suggests there might be something temporarily buoying the share price. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

It's worth taking a look at other metrics, because the EPS growth doesn't seem to match with the falling share price.

The modest 0.9% dividend yield is unlikely to be guiding the market view of the stock. Revenue is actually up 18% over the three years, so the share price drop doesn't seem to hinge on revenue, either. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

This free interactive report on Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 3.2% over one year. And that does include the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 2% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. 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. Even so, be aware that Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: Shenzhen Yan Tian Port HoldingsLtd may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Chinese exchanges.

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