Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. For example, the Everbright Grand China Assets Limited (HKG:3699) share price is down 34% in the last year. That's disappointing when you consider the market returned -4.1%. Everbright Grand China Assets hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. The share price has dropped 35% in three months. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

See our latest analysis for Everbright Grand China Assets

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

Unfortunately Everbright Grand China Assets reported an EPS drop of 48% for the last year. The share price fall of 34% isn't as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. So despite the weak per-share profits, some investors are probably relieved the situation wasn't more difficult.

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

Dive deeper into Everbright Grand China Assets's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Everbright Grand China Assets's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Everbright Grand China Assets shareholders are down 34% for the year, even worse than the market loss of 4.1%. There's no doubt that's a disappointment, but the stock may well have fared better in a stronger market. Notably, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 35% drop in the last three months. So it seems like some holders have been dumping the stock of late - and that's not bullish. Before forming an opinion on Everbright Grand China Assets you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.