One simple way to benefit from the stock market is to buy an index fund. But if you choose individual stocks with prowess, you can make superior returns. Just take a look at Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (SGX:E5H), which is up 12%, over three years, soundly beating the market decline of 8.0% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 5.8% in the last year , including dividends .

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

See our latest analysis for Golden Agri-Resources

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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).

Golden Agri-Resources was able to grow its EPS at 84% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. The average annual share price increase of 4% is actually lower than the EPS growth. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that Golden Agri-Resources has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? This free interactive report on Golden Agri-Resources' balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

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 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Golden Agri-Resources, it has a TSR of 27% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Golden Agri-Resources shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 5.8% over one year. And that does include the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 3%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Golden Agri-Resources better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Golden Agri-Resources you should know about.