Low-cost index funds make it easy to achieve average market returns. But if you invest in individual stocks, some are likely to underperform. That’s what has happened with the Collins Property Group Limited (JSE:CPP) share price. It’s up 19% over three years, but that is below the market return. Unfortunately, the share price has fallen 2.9% over twelve months.

So let’s assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 3 years and see if they’ve moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

We’ve found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Collins Property Group was able to grow its EPS at 28% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. The average annual share price increase of 6% is actually lower than the EPS growth. So it seems investors have become more cautious about the company, over time. We’d venture the lowish P/E ratio of 5.81 also reflects the negative sentiment around the stock.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It’s probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It’s always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free interactive report on Collins Property Group’s earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Collins Property Group, it has a TSR of 60% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.