Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme's (ATH:OLTH) 46% YoY earnings expansion surpassed the shareholder returns over the past year

The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. For example, the Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme (ATH:OLTH) share price is up 23% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 9.6% (not including dividends). That's a solid performance by our standards! However, the longer term returns haven't been so impressive, with the stock up just 3.8% in the last three years.

The past week has proven to be lucrative for Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's one-year performance.

View our latest analysis for Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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 Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 46%. This EPS growth is significantly higher than the 23% increase in the share price. So it seems like the market has cooled on Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme, despite the growth. Interesting. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 10.68.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

This free interactive report on Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

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, Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme's TSR for the last 1 year was 31%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 31% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 6% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. 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. Even so, be aware that Thessaloniki Port Authority Societe Anonyme is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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 Greek 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.