JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 13% in the last month. But in truth the last year hasn't been good for the share price. After all, the share price is down 47% in the last year, significantly under-performing the market.

With the stock having lost 8.0% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

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.

During the unfortunate twelve months during which the JinkoSolar Holding share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 125%. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped.

The divergence between the EPS and the share price is quite notable, during the year. So it's well worth checking out some other metrics, too.

JinkoSolar Holding's dividend seems healthy to us, so we doubt that the yield is a concern for the market. From what we can see, revenue is pretty flat, so that doesn't really explain the share price drop. Of course, it could simply be that it simply fell short of the market consensus expectations.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

It is of course excellent to see how JinkoSolar Holding has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at JinkoSolar Holding's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for JinkoSolar Holding the TSR over the last 1 year was -45%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 30% in the last year, JinkoSolar Holding shareholders lost 45% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 6% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand JinkoSolar Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - JinkoSolar Holding has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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