Chugoku Marine Paints (TSE:4617) ascends 9.9% this week, taking three-year gains to 362%

Generally speaking, investors are inspired to be stock pickers by the potential to find the big winners. Not every pick can be a winner, but when you pick the right stock, you can win big. One bright shining star stock has been Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd. (TSE:4617), which is 307% higher than three years ago. On top of that, the share price is up 59% in about a quarter.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

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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.

Chugoku Marine Paints became profitable within the last three years. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Chugoku Marine Paints' TSR for the last 3 years was 362%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Chugoku Marine Paints has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 84% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 34%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Chugoku Marine Paints scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

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 Japanese 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.