While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (SGX:NS8U) share price up 19% in a single quarter. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. After all, the share price is down 32% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

After losing 3.8% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the three years that the share price fell, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 40% each year. In comparison the 12% compound annual share price decline isn't as bad as the EPS drop-off. So, despite the prior disappointment, shareholders must have some confidence the situation will improve, longer term.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Dive deeper into Hutchison Port Holdings Trust's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. In the case of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, it has a TSR of -9.6% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust provided a TSR of 17% over the last twelve months. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 7% per year over five year. This suggests the company might be improving over time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Hutchison Port Holdings Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of undervalued small caps that insiders are buying.

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