China Tianrui Group Cement Company Limited (HKG:1252) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 16% in the last month. If you look at the last three years, the stock price is down. But on the bright side, its return of -16%, is better than the market, which is down 29%.

While the last three years has been tough for China Tianrui Group Cement shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

See our latest analysis for China Tianrui Group Cement

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.

China Tianrui Group Cement saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 56% per year, over the last three years. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 6% compound annual share price fall. So, despite the prior disappointment, shareholders must have some confidence the situation will improve, longer term. With a P/E ratio of 109.80, 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).

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on China Tianrui Group Cement's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, China Tianrui Group Cement shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 3.2% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 17%. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it's worse than the annualised loss of 2% over the last half decade. Whilst Baron Rothschild does tell the investor "buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own", buyers would need to examine the data carefully to be comfortable that the business itself is sound. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for China Tianrui Group Cement (2 don't sit too well with us) that you should be aware of.

But note: China Tianrui Group Cement 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 Hong Kong 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.