In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300047), since the last five years saw the share price fall 23%. It's down 35% in about a quarter.

Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they're still in the red over the last five years, so let's see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just 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.

During the five years over which the share price declined, Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 34% each year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 5% compound annual share price fall. So investors might expect EPS to bounce back -- or they may have previously foreseen the EPS decline. With a P/E ratio of 164.62, it's fair to say the market sees a brighter future for the business.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Although it hurts that Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology returned a loss of 15% in the last twelve months, the broader market was actually worse, returning a loss of 21%. Given the total loss of 4% per year over five years, it seems returns have deteriorated in the last twelve months. While some investors do well specializing in buying companies that are struggling (but nonetheless undervalued), don't forget that Buffett said that 'turnarounds seldom turn'. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology (2 are a bit unpleasant) that you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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.