It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300047) share price down 28% in the last month. But that shouldn't obscure the pleasing returns achieved by shareholders over the last three years. To wit, the share price did better than an index fund, climbing 33% during that period.

While this past week has detracted from the company's three-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.

Over the last three years, Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology failed to grow earnings per share, which fell 38% (annualized).

So we doubt that the market is looking to EPS for its main judge of the company's value. Given this situation, it makes sense to look at other metrics too.

Languishing at just 0.1%, we doubt the dividend is doing much to prop up the share price. It may well be that Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology revenue growth rate of 12% over three years has convinced shareholders to believe in a brighter future. In that case, the company may be sacrificing current earnings per share to drive growth, and maybe shareholder's faith in better days ahead will be rewarded.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

This free interactive report on Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 28% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 5% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Shenzhen Tianyuan DIC Information Technology that you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.