Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII) shareholders are still up 110% over 5 years despite pulling back 17% in the past week

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 17% in the last week. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. We think most investors would be happy with the 110% return, over that period. Generally speaking the long term returns will give you a better idea of business quality than short periods can. Ultimately business performance will determine whether the stock price continues the positive long term trend.

In light of the stock dropping 17% 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 five-year return.

See our latest analysis for Oceaneering International

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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 half decade, Oceaneering International became profitable. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

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

We know that Oceaneering International has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Oceaneering International's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Oceaneering International shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 19% over the last year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 16% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before spending more time on Oceaneering International it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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