While shareholders of ISU Petasys (KRX:007660) are in the black over 3 years, those who bought a week ago aren't so fortunate

The ISU Petasys Co., Ltd. (KRX:007660) share price has had a bad week, falling 13%. But that doesn't displace its brilliant performance over three years. In fact, the share price has taken off in that time, up 861%. As long term investors the recent fall doesn't detract all that much from the longer term story. The share price action could signify that the business itself is dramatically improved, in that time. We love happy stories like this one. The company should be really proud of that performance!

In light of the stock dropping 13% 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 three-year return.

See our latest analysis for ISU Petasys

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 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.

ISU Petasys became profitable within the last three years. Given the importance of this milestone, it's not overly surprising that the share price has increased strongly.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It is of course excellent to see how ISU Petasys has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at ISU Petasys' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, ISU Petasys' TSR for the last 3 years was 996%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that ISU Petasys shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 287% over one year. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 49% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand ISU Petasys better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that ISU Petasys is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But note: ISU Petasys may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.