The 4.6% return this week takes White Mountains Insurance Group's (NYSE:WTM) shareholders five-year gains to 98%

Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. And the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. For example, long term White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE:WTM) shareholders have enjoyed a 97% share price rise over the last half decade, well in excess of the market return of around 76% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 27% in the last year , including dividends .

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for White Mountains Insurance Group

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the last half decade, White Mountains Insurance Group became profitable. That's generally thought to be a genuine positive, so investors may expect to see an increasing share price.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on White Mountains Insurance Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

White Mountains Insurance Group's TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 27%. Most would be happy with a gain, and it helps that the year's return is actually better than the average return over five years, which was 15%. Even if the share price growth slows down from here, there's a good chance that this is business worth watching in the long term. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid.

White Mountains Insurance Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing 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.