The 12% return this week takes Delfingen Société Anonyme's (EPA:ALDEL) shareholders one-year gains to 209%

Unless you borrow money to invest, the potential losses are limited. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. For example, the Delfingen Société Anonyme (EPA:ALDEL) share price had more than doubled in just one year - up 199%. It's also good to see the share price up 25% over the last quarter. Zooming out, the stock is actually down 26% in the last three years.

Since the stock has added €9.4m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

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While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the last year Delfingen Société Anonyme grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.

When a company is just on the edge of profitability it can be well worth considering other metrics in order to more precisely gauge growth (and therefore understand share price movements).

Unfortunately Delfingen Société Anonyme's fell 7.1% over twelve months. So using a snapshot of key business metrics doesn't give us a good picture of why the market is bidding up the stock.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Delfingen Société Anonyme will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Delfingen Société Anonyme the TSR over the last 1 year was 209%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Delfingen Société Anonyme shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 209% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 11% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Delfingen Société Anonyme better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Delfingen Société Anonyme , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But note: Delfingen Société Anonyme may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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