These days, it’s easy to just buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But if you choose the right individual actions, you could earn more than that. For example, the Mueller Industries, Inc. The stock price (NYSE: MLI) has risen 56% over the past year, clearly outpacing the market return by around 29% (excluding dividends). If he can maintain this outperformance over the long term, investors will do very well! Equally impressive, the stock is up 50% over three years, which also pleases long-term shareholders.

The past week has turned out to be lucrative for investors in Mueller Industries, so let’s see if fundamentals have driven the company’s year-over-year performance.

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: In the short term the market is a voting machine, but in the long term it is a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and changes in the share price over time, we can get a sense of how investors’ attitudes towards a company have changed over time.

Mueller Industries has been able to increase its EPS by 113% in the past twelve months. It’s fair to say that the stock price gain of 56% has not kept pace with the growth in EPS. So it seems that the market has cooled on Mueller Industries, despite the growth. Interesting. Caution is also evident in the low P / E ratio of 9.59.

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

NYSE: MLI Growth in earnings per share September 30, 2021

We know that Mueller Industries has improved its results over the past three years, but what does the future hold? It might be worth taking a look at our free report on changes in their financial situation over time.

A different perspective

It is nice to see that the shareholders of Mueller Industries have received a total shareholder return of 57% over the past year. This includes the dividend. As the 1-year TSR is better than the 5-year TSR (the latter standing at 9% per year), it seems that the stock’s performance has improved in recent times. At the best of times, this can portend real business momentum, meaning that now may be a good time to dig deep. Most investors take the time to verify insider trading data. You can click here to see if any insiders have bought or sold.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider buys, might be just the ticket.

Please note that the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market-weighted average returns of stocks currently traded on the US stock exchanges.

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

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