The one-year decline in earnings might be taking its toll on MPC Container Ships (OB:MPCC) shareholders as stock falls 7.6% over the past week

It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the MPC Container Ships ASA (OB:MPCC) share price down 17% in the last month. But looking back over the last year, the returns have actually been rather pleasing! After all, the share price is up a market-beating 46% in that time.

While the stock has fallen 7.6% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for MPC Container Ships

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 way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During the last year, MPC Container Ships actually saw its earnings per share drop 39%.

Given the share price gain, we doubt the market is measuring progress with EPS. Indeed, when EPS is declining but the share price is up, it often means the market is considering other factors.

We haven't seen MPC Container Ships increase dividend payments yet, so the yield probably hasn't helped drive the share higher. It saw it's revenue decline by 22% over twelve months. Usually that correlates with a lower share price, but let's face it, the gyrations of the market are sometimes only as clear as mud.

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

It is of course excellent to see how MPC Container Ships has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. This free interactive report on MPC Container Ships' balance sheet strength 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 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of MPC Container Ships, it has a TSR of 92% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that MPC Container Ships has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 92% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 41%. 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand MPC Container Ships better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for MPC Container Ships (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course MPC Container Ships may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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