Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. To wit, the Restore plc (LON:RST) share price is 12% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market decline of around 6.7% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. Zooming out, the stock is up 10.0% in the last three years.

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

Check out our latest analysis for Restore

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the last year Restore saw its earnings per share (EPS) increase strongly. While that particular rate of growth is unlikely to be sustained for long, it is still remarkable. So we're unsurprised to see the share price gaining ground. Strong growth like this can be evidence of a fundamental inflection point in the business, making it a good time to investigate the stock more closely.

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

We know that Restore has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think Restore will grow revenue in the future.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Restore shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 14% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 0.2% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Restore better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Restore , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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