Zhejiang Shuanghuan Driveline Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002472) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 28% in the last month. But that does not change the realty that the stock's performance has been terrific, over five years. In fact, during that period, the share price climbed 343%. Impressive! Arguably, the recent fall is to be expected after such a strong rise. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 8.3%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

See our latest analysis for Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect 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.

Over half a decade, Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd managed to grow its earnings per share at 17% a year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 35% per year, over the same period. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

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 Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd 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.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd's TSR for the last 5 years was 356%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 6.1% in the twelve months, Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd shareholders did even worse, losing 22% (even including dividends). 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 35%, 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd that you should be aware of.

But note: Zhejiang Shuanghuan DrivelineLtd may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.