It is a pleasure to report that the HCR Co., Ltd (SHSE:688500) is up 54% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the reality of under-performance over the last twelve months. In fact, the price has declined 13% in a year, falling short of the returns you could get by investing in an index fund.

While the last year has been tough for HCR shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

Check out our latest analysis for HCR

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 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).

HCR fell to a loss making position during the year. While this may prove temporary, we'd consider it a negative, so it doesn't surprise us that the stock price is down. Of course, if the company can turn the situation around, investors will likely profit.

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

Dive deeper into HCR's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of HCR's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

HCR shareholders are down 13% for the year, even worse than the market loss of 5.1%. There's no doubt that's a disappointment, but the stock may well have fared better in a stronger market. It's great to see a nice little 54% rebound in the last three months. Let's just hope this isn't the widely-feared 'dead cat bounce' (which would indicate further declines to come). It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand HCR better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for HCR (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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