CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology Inc. (SHSE:600877) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 21% in the last quarter. But over three years, the returns would have left most investors smiling In fact, the company's share price bested the return of its market index in that time, posting a gain of 92%.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology

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.

During the three years of share price growth, CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) drop 19% per year.

So we doubt that the market is looking to EPS for its main judge of the company's value. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

It could be that the revenue growth of 51% per year is viewed as evidence that CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology is growing. If the company is being managed for the long term good, today's shareholders might be right to hold on.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? You can see what analysts are predicting for CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology shareholders are down 33% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 8.0%. 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 11%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

We will like CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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