Investors in KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company (KRX:052690) have seen stellar returns of 219% over the past five years

The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For instance, the price of KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company, Inc. (KRX:052690) stock is up an impressive 204% over the last five years. Meanwhile the share price is 2.8% higher than it was a week ago.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During five years of share price growth, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 7.3% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 25% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth. This favorable sentiment is reflected in its (fairly optimistic) P/E ratio of 67.02.

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

This free interactive report on KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company the TSR over the last 5 years was 219%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company provided a TSR of 3.8% over the last twelve months. But that return falls short of the market. It's probably a good sign that the company has an even better long term track record, having provided shareholders with an annual TSR of 26% over five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. Is KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company cheap compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

We will like KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company 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.