Fineotex Chemical Limited (NSE:FCL) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 16% in the last month. But that is minimal compensation for the share price under-performance over the last year. In fact the stock is down 32% in the last year, well below the market return.

View our latest analysis for Fineotex Chemical

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Unfortunately Fineotex Chemical reported an EPS drop of 6.9% for the last year. The share price decline of 32% is actually more than the EPS drop. This suggests the EPS fall has made some shareholders are more nervous about the business.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

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

A Different Perspective

The last twelve months weren't great for Fineotex Chemical shares, which cost holders 32% , including dividends , while the market was up about 6.4%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. The three-year loss of 3.0% per year isn't as bad as the last twelve months, suggesting that the company has not been able to convince the market it has solved its problems. Although Warren Buffett famously said he likes to 'buy when there is blood on the streets', he also focusses on high quality stocks with solid prospects. Before spending more time on Fineotex Chemical it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.