Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (NASDAQ:KEQU) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 23% in the last month. But over five years returns have been remarkably great. In that time, the share price has soared some 479% higher! Arguably, the recent fall is to be expected after such a strong rise. But the real question is whether the business fundamentals can improve over the long term.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

View our latest analysis for Kewaunee Scientific

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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 half decade, Kewaunee Scientific became profitable. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

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

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Kewaunee Scientific's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Kewaunee Scientific has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 66% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 42%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Kewaunee Scientific better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Kewaunee Scientific that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course Kewaunee Scientific may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.