By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But many of us dare to dream of bigger returns, and build a portfolio ourselves. For example, the Schloss Wachenheim AG (ETR:SWA) share price is up 16% in the last three years, clearly besting the market decline of around 5.0% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 3.1% in the last year.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

Check out our latest analysis for Schloss Wachenheim

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. 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).

Schloss Wachenheim was able to grow its EPS at 13% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. The average annual share price increase of 5% is actually lower than the EPS growth. So one could reasonably conclude that the market has cooled on the stock.

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

Dive deeper into Schloss Wachenheim's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Schloss Wachenheim's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Schloss Wachenheim provided a TSR of 3.1% over the last twelve months. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it is certainly better than the yearly loss of about 1.8% endured over half a decade. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. Keeping this in mind, a solid next step might be to take a look at Schloss Wachenheim's dividend track record. This free interactive graph is a great place to start.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.