It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. For example, the Argentex Group Plc (LON:AGFX) share price is down 10% in the last year. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 37%. We wouldn't rush to judgement on Argentex Group because we don't have a long term history to look at. There was little comfort for shareholders in the last week as the price declined a further 1.5%.

View our latest analysis for Argentex Group

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...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

A Different Perspective

Given that the market gained 37% in the last year, Argentex Group shareholders might be miffed that they lost 9.1% (even including dividends). While the aim is to do better than that, it's worth recalling that even great long-term investments sometimes underperform for a year or more. With the stock flat over the last three months, the market now seems fairly ambivalent about the business. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Argentex Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But note: Argentex Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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

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. 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.

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