While stock picking isn't easy, for those willing to persist and learn, it is possible to buy shares in great companies, and generate wonderful returns. When you find (and hold) a big winner, you can markedly improve your finances. In the case of Scholar Education Group (HKG:1769), the share price is up an incredible 349% in the last year alone. And in the last month, the share price has gained 32%. Also impressive, the stock is up 239% over three years, making long term shareholders happy, too.

Since it's been a strong week for Scholar Education Group shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

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. 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.

Scholar Education Group was able to grow EPS by 59% in the last twelve months. This EPS growth is significantly lower than the 349% increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it a year ago.

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

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Scholar Education Group has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 349% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 5%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Scholar Education Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Scholar Education Group you should know about.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: most of them are flying under the radar).

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.