Nice Information & Telecommunication (KOSDAQ:036800) stock performs better than its underlying earnings growth over last year

Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. To wit, the Nice Information & Telecommunication, Inc. (KOSDAQ:036800) share price is 32% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 8.7% (not including dividends) in the same period. If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! However, the stock hasn't done so well in the longer term, with the stock only up 7.7% in three years.

The past week has proven to be lucrative for Nice Information & Telecommunication investors, so let's see if fundamentals drove the company's one-year performance.

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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 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.

During the last year Nice Information & Telecommunication grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 2.1%. This EPS growth is significantly lower than the 32% increase in the share price. This indicates that the market is now more optimistic about the stock.

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

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

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Nice Information & Telecommunication, it has a TSR of 38% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Nice Information & Telecommunication shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 38% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 4% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Keeping this in mind, a solid next step might be to take a look at Nice Information & Telecommunication's dividend track record. This free interactive graph is a great place to start.

We will like Nice Information & Telecommunication 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.