A diverse portfolio of stocks will always have winners and losers. But if you're going to beat the market overall, you need to have individual stocks that outperform. Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) has done well over the last year, with the stock price up 33% beating the market return of 31% (not including dividends). Zooming out, the stock is actually down 28% in the last three years.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

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.

Over the last twelve months, Ball actually shrank its EPS by 0.4%.

The mild decline in EPS may be a result of the fact that the company is more focused on other aspects of the business, right now. It makes sense to check some of the other fundamental data for an explanation of the share price rise.

We are skeptical of the suggestion that the 1.2% dividend yield would entice buyers to the stock. Revenue was pretty stable on last year, so deeper research might be needed to explain the share price rise.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. You can see what analysts are predicting for Ball in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

Ball's TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 35%. The silver lining is that the share price is up in the short term, which flies in the face of the annualised loss of 1.0% over the last five years. While 'turnarounds seldom turn' there are green shoots for Ball. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Ball (at least 2 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Ball is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.

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.