We think that it's fair to say that the possibility of finding fantastic multi-year winners is what motivates many investors. Not every pick can be a winner, but when you pick the right stock, you can win big. One bright shining star stock has been Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (KRX:010140), which is 369% higher than three years ago. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 15% gain in the last three months. But this could be related to the strong market, which is up 21% in the last three months.
While this past week has detracted from the company's three-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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 three years of share price growth, Samsung Heavy Industries moved from a loss to profitability. Given the importance of this milestone, it's not overly surprising that the share price has increased strongly.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We know that Samsung Heavy Industries has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Samsung Heavy Industries' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.
It's good to see that Samsung Heavy Industries has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 112% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 29% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before forming an opinion on Samsung Heavy Industries you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on South Korean 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.