Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical Co., LTD (SZSE:002262) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 14% in the last month. But that scarcely detracts from the really solid long term returns generated by the company over five years. In fact, the share price is 141% higher today. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. Ultimately business performance will determine whether the stock price continues the positive long term trend.
While this past week has detracted from the company's five-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.
View our latest analysis for Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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 five years of share price growth, Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 17% per year. So the EPS growth rate is rather close to the annualized share price gain of 19% per year. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. In fact, the share price seems to largely reflect the EPS growth.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
We know that Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? This free report showing analyst revenue forecasts should help you figure out if the EPS growth can be sustained.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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 Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical, it has a TSR of 151% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
While it's certainly disappointing to see that Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical shares lost 1.9% throughout the year, that wasn't as bad as the market loss of 24%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 20% for each year. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. Before forming an opinion on Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.
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 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.