The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For example, the Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH) share price has soared 144% in the last half decade. Most would be very happy with that. On the other hand, the stock price has retraced 5.5% in the last week. But this could be related to the soft market, with stocks selling off around 2.1% in the last week.

Although Beazer Homes USA has shed US$55m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

View our latest analysis for Beazer Homes USA

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.

During five years of share price growth, Beazer Homes USA achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 12% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 20% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We know that Beazer Homes USA has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Beazer Homes USA's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Beazer Homes USA has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 98% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 20%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Beazer Homes USA better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Beazer Homes USA has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.