Investors more bullish on Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance (HKG:6866) this week as stock surges 12%, despite earnings trending downwards over past five years

This week we saw the Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance Company Limited (HKG:6866) share price climb by 12%.

The recent uptick of 12% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Looking back five years, both Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 9.5% per year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 4% compound annual share price fall. So the market may previously have expected a drop, or else it expects the situation will improve.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized 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. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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 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. In the case of Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance, it has a TSR of 14% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 5.6% over one year. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 3% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

Of course Zuoli Kechuang Micro-finance may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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.