Indiana Resources Limited (ASX:IDA) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 21% in the last month.

It’s worthwhile assessing if the company’s economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let’s do just that.

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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 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.

During the last year Indiana Resources grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.

The result looks like a strong improvement to us, so we’re surprised the market has sold down the shares. If the improved profitability is a sign of things to come, then right now may prove the perfect time to pop this stock on your watchlist.

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

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Indiana Resources’ earnings, revenue and cash flow.

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Indiana Resources, it has a TSR of 121% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

It’s good to see that Indiana Resources has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 121% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That’s better than the annualised return of 36% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Indiana Resources better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Indiana Resources is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn’t be ignored…