Those who invested in Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) a year ago are up 41%

It's always best to build a diverse portfolio of shares, since any stock business could lag the broader market. But the goal is to pick stocks that do better than average. One such company is Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX), which saw its share price increase 41% in the last year, slightly above the market return of around 39% (not including dividends). The longer term returns have not been as good, with the stock price only 2.3% higher than it was three years ago.

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.

View our latest analysis for Minerals Technologies

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 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.

Minerals Technologies was able to grow EPS by 137% in the last twelve months. This EPS growth is significantly higher than the 41% increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market isn't as excited about Minerals Technologies as it was before. This could be an opportunity.

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

We know that Minerals Technologies has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.

A Different Perspective

Minerals Technologies shareholders have received returns of 41% over twelve months (even including dividends), which isn't far from the general market return. That gain looks pretty satisfying, and it is even better than the five-year TSR of 7% per year. 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. Before spending more time on Minerals Technologies it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can 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.