When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. Long term China Sunshine Paper Holdings Company Limited (HKG:2002) shareholders would be well aware of this, since the stock is up 126% in five years. It's also good to see the share price up 28% over the last quarter.

See our latest analysis for China Sunshine Paper Holdings

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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).

Over half a decade, China Sunshine Paper Holdings managed to grow its earnings per share at 85% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 18% average annual increase in the share price. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 3.72.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on China Sunshine Paper Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for China Sunshine Paper Holdings the TSR over the last 5 years was 156%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that China Sunshine Paper Holdings has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 16% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. However, that falls short of the 21% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of China Sunshine Paper Holdings by clicking this link.