Investors can approximate the average market return by buying an index fund. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. For example, the Coral India Finance and Housing Limited (NSE:CORALFINAC) share price is down 38% in the last year. That's disappointing when you consider the market returned -4.3%. Because Coral India Finance and Housing hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs. Furthermore, it's down 21% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

View our latest analysis for Coral India Finance and Housing

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 Coral India Finance and Housing reported an EPS drop of 19% for the last year. The share price decline of 38% is actually more than the EPS drop. Unsurprisingly, given the lack of EPS growth, the market seems to be more cautious about the stock. The less favorable sentiment is reflected in its current P/E ratio of 5.78.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

Coral India Finance and Housing shareholders are down 37% for the year (even including dividends) , even worse than the market loss of 4.3%. There's no doubt that's a disappointment, but the stock may well have fared better in a stronger market. With the stock down 21% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Coral India Finance and Housing scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

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