The five-year decline in earnings might be taking its toll on Sunteck Realty (NSE:SUNTECK) shareholders as stock falls 7.2% over the past week

It hasn't been the best quarter for Sunteck Realty Limited (NSE:SUNTECK) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 12% in that time. But at least the stock is up over the last five years. In that time, it is up 32%, which isn't bad, but is below the market return of 171%.

In light of the stock dropping 7.2% in the past week, we want to investigate the longer term story, and see if fundamentals have been the driver of the company's positive five-year return.

View our latest analysis for Sunteck Realty

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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 last half decade, Sunteck Realty became profitable. That would generally be considered a positive, so we'd hope to see the share price to rise.

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

We know that Sunteck Realty has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think Sunteck Realty will grow revenue in the future.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. As it happens, Sunteck Realty's TSR for the last 5 years was 34%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Sunteck Realty provided a TSR of 15% over the last twelve months. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 6% over half a decade This suggests the company might be improving over time. 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 Sunteck Realty is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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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.