The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. Investors in Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROCK) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 43%. That's well below the market decline of 22%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 17% in three years. More recently, the share price has dropped a further 15% in a month. However, we note the price may have been impacted by the broader market, which is down 11% in the same time period.

After losing 7.9% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

Check out our latest analysis for Gibraltar Industries

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...' 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.

Unfortunately Gibraltar Industries reported an EPS drop of 4.2% for the last year. The share price decline of 43% is actually more than the EPS drop. This suggests the EPS fall has made some shareholders are more nervous about the business.

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

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Gibraltar Industries' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 22% in the twelve months, Gibraltar Industries shareholders did even worse, losing 43%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 4%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Gibraltar Industries by clicking this link.

Gibraltar Industries is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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