The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. That downside risk was realized by A & S Group (Holdings) Limited (HKG:1737) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 43%. That's disappointing when you consider the market declined 17%. A & S Group (Holdings) hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. Unhappily, the share price slid 2.0% in the last week.

View our latest analysis for A & S Group (Holdings)

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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).

During the last year A & S Group (Holdings) saw its earnings per share drop below zero. While this may prove temporary, we'd consider it a negative, so it doesn't surprise us that the stock price is down. Of course, if the company can turn the situation around, investors will likely profit.

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

Dive deeper into A & S Group (Holdings)'s key metrics by checking this interactive graph of A & S Group (Holdings)'s earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

We doubt A & S Group (Holdings) shareholders are happy with the loss of 43% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 17%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. The share price decline has continued throughout the most recent three months, down 9.1%, suggesting an absence of enthusiasm from investors. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand A & S Group (Holdings) better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with A & S Group (Holdings) (including 1 which is is a bit concerning) .

We will like A & S Group (Holdings) better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.