It might seem bad, but the worst that can happen when you buy a stock (without leverage) is that its share price goes to zero. But in contrast you can make much more than 100% if the company does well. To wit, the Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) share price has flown 143% in the last three years. Most would be happy with that. It's also good to see the share price up 24% over the last quarter. But this could be related to the strong market, which is up 12% in the last three months.

The past week has proven to be lucrative for Huron Consulting Group investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's three-year performance.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During three years of share price growth, Huron Consulting Group achieved compound earnings per share growth of 64% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 34% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We know that Huron Consulting Group has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

Huron Consulting Group provided a TSR of 25% over the last twelve months. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 14% over half a decade This suggests the company might be improving over time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Huron Consulting Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Huron Consulting Group .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American 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.