Unfortunately, investing is risky - companies can and do go bankrupt. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. Take, for example Sim Leisure Group Ltd. (Catalist:URR). Its share price is already up an impressive 167% in the last twelve months. Meanwhile the share price is 11% higher than it was a week ago. And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 54% in the last three years.

Since it's been a strong week for Sim Leisure Group shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Sim Leisure Group

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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).

During the last year Sim Leisure Group grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.

The result looks like a strong improvement to us, so we're not surprised the market likes the growth. Inflection points like this can be a great time to take a closer look at a company.

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

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Sim Leisure Group, it has a TSR of 181% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Sim Leisure Group rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 181% over the last year. That includes the value of the dividend. So this year's TSR was actually better than the three-year TSR (annualized) of 17%. The improving returns to shareholders suggests the stock is becoming more popular with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Sim Leisure Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Sim Leisure Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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 Singaporean exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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