It's normal to be annoyed when stock you own has a declining share price. But often it is not a reflection of the fundamental business performance. The Yuexiu Services Group Limited (HKG:6626) is down 13% over a year, but the total shareholder return is -10% once you include the dividend. That's better than the market which declined 18% over the last year. We wouldn't rush to judgement on Yuexiu Services Group because we don't have a long term history to look at. Unfortunately the last month hasn't been any better, with the share price down 15%. But this could be related to poor market conditions -- stocks are down 7.9% in the same time.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

Check out our latest analysis for Yuexiu Services Group

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Even though the Yuexiu Services Group share price is down over the year, its EPS actually improved. Of course, the situation might betray previous over-optimism about growth.

It's fair to say that the share price does not seem to be reflecting the EPS growth. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics.

Yuexiu Services Group's revenue is actually up 64% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards the stock.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that Yuexiu Services Group 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?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Yuexiu Services Group, it has a TSR of -10% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

While they no doubt would have preferred make a profit, at least Yuexiu Services Group shareholders didn't do too badly in the last year. Their loss of 10%, including dividends, actually beat the broader market, which lost around 18%. The falls have continued up until the last quarter, with the share price down 7.4% in that time. This doesn't look great to us, but it is possible that the market is over-reacting to prior disappointment. Is Yuexiu Services Group cheap compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

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 HK 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.