The a2 Milk Company Limited (NZSE:ATM) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 27% in the last quarter. But that can't change the reality that over the longer term (five years), the returns have been really quite dismal. The share price has failed to impress anyone , down a sizable 62% during that time. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. However, in the best case scenario (far from fait accompli), this improved performance might be sustained.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

View our latest analysis for a2 Milk

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 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.

Looking back five years, both a2 Milk's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 7.7% per year. Readers should note that the share price has fallen faster than the EPS, at a rate of 18% per year, over the period. This implies that the market was previously too optimistic about the stock.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We know that a2 Milk has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? This free report showing analyst revenue forecasts should help you figure out if the EPS growth can be sustained.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 1.0% in the twelve months, a2 Milk shareholders did even worse, losing 1.1%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 10% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. If you would like to research a2 Milk in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.

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.