The past three years for Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding (HKG:322) investors has not been profitable

While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. (HKG:322) share price has gained 30% in the last three months. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. After all, the share price is down 26% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding

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.

During the three years that the share price fell, Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 3.3% each year. The share price decline of 10% is actually steeper than the EPS slippage. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, in the past.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding, it has a TSR of -8.9% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding's TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 24%. Most would be happy with a gain, and it helps that the year's return is actually better than the average return over five years, which was 7%. It is possible that management foresight will bring growth well into the future, even if the share price slows down. 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 Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.