Despite lower earnings than five years ago, Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd (SZSE:002436) investors are up 62% since then

It hasn't been the best quarter for Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit Tech Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002436) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 16% in that time. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been pleasing. It has returned a market beating 57% in that time. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 33% decline over the last twelve months.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 3.4%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

View our latest analysis for Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd

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 five years of share price growth, Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd actually saw its EPS drop 2.8% per year.

So it's hard to argue that the earnings per share are the best metric to judge the company, as it may not be optimized for profits at this point. Therefore, it's worth taking a look at other metrics to try to understand the share price movements.

The modest 0.5% dividend yield is unlikely to be propping up the share price. In contrast revenue growth of 9.9% per year is probably viewed as evidence that Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd is growing, a real positive. In that case, the company may be sacrificing current earnings per share to drive growth.

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

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd's TSR for the last 5 years was 62%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 16% in the twelve months, Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd shareholders did even worse, losing 33% (even including dividends). 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 10%, 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit TechLtd (2 are a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of undervalued small caps that insiders are buying.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com