When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. For example, the IVS Group S.A. (BIT:IVS) share price is up 29% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market return of around -10.0% (ignoring dividends).

View our latest analysis for IVS Group

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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).

During the five years of share price growth, IVS Group moved from a loss to profitability. That's generally thought to be a genuine positive, so we would expect to see an increasing share price.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It is of course excellent to see how IVS Group has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. If you are thinking of buying or selling IVS Group stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for IVS Group the TSR over the last 5 years was 41%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 25% in the last year, IVS Group shareholders lost 11% (even including dividends) . However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 7.1% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Importantly, we haven't analysed IVS Group's dividend history. This free visual report on its dividends is a must-read if you're thinking of buying.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).