The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. To wit, the Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002422) share price is 34% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market decline of around 0.5% (not including dividends) in the same period. That's a solid performance by our standards! The longer term returns have not been as good, with the stock price only 23% higher than it was three years ago.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical

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).

Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical was able to grow EPS by 50% in the last twelve months. It's fair to say that the share price gain of 34% did not keep pace with the EPS growth. Therefore, it seems the market isn't as excited about Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical as it was before. This could be an opportunity.

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

We know that Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical the TSR over the last 1 year was 36%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 36% over the last year. Of course, that includes the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 7% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical 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.

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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.