Earnings growth of 21% over 3 years hasn't been enough to translate into positive returns for Xinte Energy (HKG:1799) shareholders

If you love investing in stocks you're bound to buy some losers. But the long term shareholders of Xinte Energy Co., Ltd. (HKG:1799) have had an unfortunate run in the last three years. Sadly for them, the share price is down 66% in that time. And over the last year the share price fell 50%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. Furthermore, it's down 23% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

After losing 4.7% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

Check out our latest analysis for Xinte Energy

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.

Although the share price is down over three years, Xinte Energy actually managed to grow EPS by 79% 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.

Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

Revenue is actually up 29% over the three years, so the share price drop doesn't seem to hinge on revenue, either. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Xinte Energy more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Xinte Energy has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? This free interactive report on Xinte Energy's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Xinte Energy's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Its history of dividend payouts mean that Xinte Energy's TSR, which was a 64% drop over the last 3 years, was not as bad as the share price return.

A Different Perspective

Xinte Energy shareholders are down 50% for the year, but the market itself is up 8.3%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 8% 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Xinte Energy has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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