Yanlord Land Group Limited (SGX:Z25) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 12% in the last month. Meanwhile over the last three years the stock has dropped hard. In that time, the share price dropped 63%. So it is really good to see an improvement. Perhaps the company has turned over a new leaf.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for Yanlord Land 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).

Over the three years that the share price declined, Yanlord Land Group's earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. Extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!

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

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. This free interactive report on Yanlord Land Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Dividend Lost

It's important to keep in mind that we've been talking about the share price returns, which don't include dividends, while the total shareholder return does. Many would argue the TSR gives a more complete picture of the value a stock brings to its holders. Yanlord Land Group's TSR over the last 3 years is -60%; better than its share price return. Although the company had to cut dividends, it has paid cash to shareholders in the past.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Yanlord Land Group had a tough year, with a total loss of 39%, against a market gain of about 5.6%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 9% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. 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. Even so, be aware that Yanlord Land Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...