Investing in Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC) (DSM:QGTS) five years ago would have delivered you a 97% gain

Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC) (DSM:QGTS) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 11% in the last quarter. On the bright side the returns have been quite good over the last half decade. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 64% in that time.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

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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 five years of share price growth, Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC) achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 9.2% per year. So the EPS growth rate is rather close to the annualized share price gain of 10% per year. This indicates that investor sentiment towards the company has not changed a great deal. In fact, the share price seems to largely reflect the EPS growth.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC), it has a TSR of 97% for the last 5 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

Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC) shareholders are up 5.1% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 15% per year for five years. It may well be that this is a business worth popping on the watching, given the continuing positive reception, over time, from the market. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC) better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) (QPSC) has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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