As Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France (EPA:CAF) rallies 6.5% this past week, investors may now be noticing the company's three-year earnings growth

As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But its virtually certain that sometimes you will buy stocks that fall short of the market average returns. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France (EPA:CAF) shareholders, since the share price is down 25% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 28%. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 14% in thirty days. However, we note the price may have been impacted by the broader market, which is down 8.4% in the same time period.

The recent uptick of 6.5% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a lot at historical fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect 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.

Although the share price is down over three years, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France actually managed to grow EPS by 3.3% per year in that time. This is quite a puzzle, and suggests there might be something temporarily buoying the share price. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

It's pretty reasonable to suspect the market was previously to bullish on the stock, and has since moderated expectations. However, taking a look at other business metrics might shed a bit more light on the share price action.

The company has kept revenue pretty healthy over the last three years, so we doubt that explains the falling share price. We're not entirely sure why the share price is dropped, but it does seem likely investors have become less optimistic about the business.

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's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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 incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France the TSR over the last 3 years was -16%, 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 6.7% in the last year, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France shareholders lost 2.1% (even including dividends). Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 1.9%, 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. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile-de-France you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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