While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Easyhome New Retail Group Corporation Limited (SZSE:000785) share price has gained 17% in the last three months. But that is little comfort to those holding over the last half decade, sitting on a big loss. Indeed, the share price is down 69% in the period. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. We'd err towards caution given the long term under-performance.

On a more encouraging note the company has added CN¥1.2b to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the five-year loss for shareholders.

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Looking back five years, both Easyhome New Retail Group's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 24% per year. Notably, the share price has fallen at 21% per year, fairly close to the change in the EPS. This implies that the market has had a fairly steady view of the stock. So it's fair to say the share price has been responding to changes in EPS.

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

This free interactive report on Easyhome New Retail Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Easyhome New Retail Group the TSR over the last 5 years was -65%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Easyhome New Retail Group had a tough year, with a total loss of 15% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 7.8%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 10% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Easyhome New Retail Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Easyhome New Retail Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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 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.