For us, stock picking is in large part the hunt for the truly magnificent stocks. But when you hold the right stock for the right time period, the rewards can be truly huge. Take, for example, the Rheinmetall AG (ETR:RHM) share price, which skyrocketed 552% over three years. On the other hand, the stock price has retraced 7.4% in the last week. But this could be related to the soft market, with stocks selling off around 3.0% in the last week. We love happy stories like this one. The company should be really proud of that performance!

While this past week has detracted from the company's three-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

Check out our latest analysis for Rheinmetall

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.

During three years of share price growth, Rheinmetall achieved compound earnings per share growth of 24% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 87% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. That's not necessarily surprising considering the three-year track record of earnings growth.

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

We know that Rheinmetall 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.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. As it happens, Rheinmetall's TSR for the last 3 years was 582%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Rheinmetall has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 108% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 37%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before forming an opinion on Rheinmetall you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.