It hasn't been the best quarter for Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 23% in that time. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. Indeed, the share price is up an impressive 299% in that time. To some, the recent pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a fast rise. The more important question is whether the stock is too cheap or too expensive today.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Olympic Steel

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.

Over half a decade, Olympic Steel managed to grow its earnings per share at 9.6% a year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 32% per year, over the same period. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

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

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

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Olympic Steel's TSR for the last 5 years was 314%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

Olympic Steel shareholders gained a total return of 14% during the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. If we look back over five years, the returns are even better, coming in at 33% per year for five years. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Olympic Steel that you should be aware of.