While Teyi Pharmaceutical Group Co.,Ltd (SZSE:002728) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 25% in the last quarter. In contrast, the return over three years has been impressive. In fact, the share price is up a full 105% compared to three years ago. So the recent fall in the share price should be viewed in that context. If the business can perform well for years to come, then the recent drop could be an opportunity.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

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.

Teyi Pharmaceutical GroupLtd was able to grow its EPS at 48% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is higher than the 27% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It is of course excellent to see how Teyi Pharmaceutical GroupLtd has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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, Teyi Pharmaceutical GroupLtd's TSR for the last 3 years was 130%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

The total return of 18% received by Teyi Pharmaceutical GroupLtd shareholders over the last year isn't far from the market return of -17%. The silver lining is that longer term investors would have made a total return of 9% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data remains strong, and the share price is simply down on sentiment, then this could be an opportunity worth investigating. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that Teyi Pharmaceutical GroupLtd is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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.