The total return for Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA (NYSE:BVN) investors has risen faster than earnings growth over the last three years

While Compañía de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. (NYSE:BVN) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 26% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been pleasing. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 71% in that time.

While this past week has detracted from the company's three-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

See our latest analysis for Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA was able to grow its EPS at 18% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. We note that the 20% yearly (average) share price gain isn't too far from the EPS growth rate. Coincidence? Probably not. This suggests that sentiment and expectations have not changed drastically. Quite to the contrary, the share price has arguably reflected the EPS growth.

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

Dive deeper into Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA'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. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA, it has a TSR of 75% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 63% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. That certainly beats the loss of about 2% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Compañía de Minas BuenaventuraA you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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.