You can invest in an index fund if you want to make sure your returns approximately match the overall market. But in any given year a good portion of stocks will fall short of that. For example, that's what happened with Hainan Jingliang Holdings Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000505) over the last year - it's share price is down 22% versus a market decline of 19%. Taking the longer term view, the stock fell 19% over the last three years. On the other hand the share price has bounced 8.2% over the last week.

On a more encouraging note the company has added CN¥363m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the one-year loss for shareholders.

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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.

Unhappily, Hainan Jingliang Holdings had to report a 26% decline in EPS over the last year. This fall in the EPS is significantly worse than the 22% the share price fall. So despite the weak per-share profits, some investors are probably relieved the situation wasn't more difficult.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Hainan Jingliang Holdings shareholders are down 22% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 19%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 0.1% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Hainan Jingliang Holdings .

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies 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.