Despite delivering investors losses of 59% over the past 5 years, Anton Oilfield Services Group (HKG:3337) has been growing its earnings

Anton Oilfield Services Group (HKG:3337) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 13% in the last week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last half decade have been disappointing. In fact, the share price has declined rather badly, down some 59% in that time. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. But it could be that the fall was overdone.

While the last five years has been tough for Anton Oilfield Services Group shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

View our latest analysis for Anton Oilfield Services Group

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the unfortunate half decade during which the share price slipped, Anton Oilfield Services Group actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 16% per year. So it doesn't seem like EPS is a great guide to understanding how the market is valuing the stock. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

Because of the sharp contrast between the EPS growth rate and the share price growth, we're inclined to look to other metrics to understand the changing market sentiment around the stock.

In contrast to the share price, revenue has actually increased by 2.8% a year in the five year period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

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

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

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Anton Oilfield Services Group has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 43% in the last twelve months. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 10% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Anton Oilfield Services Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

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 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.