The main aim of stock picking is to find the market-beating stocks. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in Visual China Group Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:000681), since the last five years saw the share price fall 44%. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 10% in the last three months. However, one could argue that the price has been influenced by the general market, which is down 6.2% in the same timeframe.

The recent uptick of 6.8% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Visual China GroupLtd

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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.

Looking back five years, both Visual China GroupLtd's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 16% per year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 11% compound annual share price fall. So the market may previously have expected a drop, or else it expects the situation will improve. With a P/E ratio of 70.90, it's fair to say the market sees a brighter future for the business.

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

We know that Visual China GroupLtd has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Visual China GroupLtd has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 27% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 7% per year over five years. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Visual China GroupLtd scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

We will like Visual China GroupLtd 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.