Update: Christian Berner Tech Trade (STO:CBTT B) Stock Gained 90% In The Last Three Years

One simple way to benefit from the stock market is to buy an index fund. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. For example, the Christian Berner Tech Trade AB (publ) (STO:CBTT B) share price is up 90% in the last three years, clearly besting than the market return of around 11% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 63%, including dividends.

Check out our latest analysis for Christian Berner Tech Trade

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. 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).

Christian Berner Tech Trade was able to grow its EPS at 19% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. In comparison, the 24% per year gain in the share price outpaces the EPS growth. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. It's not unusual to see the market 're-rate' a stock, after a few years of growth.

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

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our freereport on Christian Berner Tech Trade's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Christian Berner Tech Trade the TSR over the last 3 years was 107%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

Pleasingly, Christian Berner Tech Trade's total shareholder return last year was 63%. That includes the value of the dividend. So this year's TSR was actually better than the three-year TSR (annualized) of 27%. These improved returns may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before spending more time on Christian Berner Tech Trade it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this freelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.