Even after rising 12% this past week, GS Engineering & Construction (KRX:006360) shareholders are still down 45% over the past three years

GS Engineering & Construction Corporation (KRX:006360) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 15% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been less than pleasing. After all, the share price is down 52% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

While the stock has risen 12% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

See our latest analysis for GS Engineering & Construction

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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.

We know that GS Engineering & Construction has been profitable in the past. On the other hand, it reported a trailing twelve months loss, suggesting it isn't reliably profitable. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time.

Given the healthiness of the dividend payments, we doubt that they've concerned the market. It's good to see that GS Engineering & Construction has increased its revenue over the last three years. But it's not clear to us why the share price is down. It might be worth diving deeper into the fundamentals, lest an opportunity goes begging.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

GS Engineering & Construction is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. If you are thinking of buying or selling GS Engineering & Construction stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of GS Engineering & Construction, it has a TSR of -45% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that GS Engineering & Construction shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 26% over the last year. Of course, that includes the dividend. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 2% per year over five years. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand GS Engineering & Construction better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - GS Engineering & Construction has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

We will like GS Engineering & Construction better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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