Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (NSE:APOLLOHOSP) jumps 5.7% this week, though earnings growth is still tracking behind five-year shareholder returns

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. For example, the Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (NSE:APOLLOHOSP) share price is up a whopping 423% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. On top of that, the share price is up 13% in about a quarter. This could be related to the recent financial results, released recently - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

Since it's been a strong week for Apollo Hospitals Enterprise shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for Apollo Hospitals Enterprise

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.

Over half a decade, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise managed to grow its earnings per share at 32% a year. So the EPS growth rate is rather close to the annualized share price gain of 39% per year. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

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

We know that Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise's TSR for the last 5 years was 430%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise shareholders have received returns of 40% over twelve months (even including dividends), which isn't far from the general market return. 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 40%. Even if the share price growth slows down from here, there's a good chance that this is business worth watching in the long term. Before forming an opinion on Apollo Hospitals Enterprise you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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