While stock picking isn't easy, for those willing to persist and learn, it is possible to buy shares in great companies, and generate wonderful returns. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. In the case of Kingstone Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:KINS), the share price is up an incredible 309% in the last year alone. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 17% gain in the last three months. It is also impressive that the stock is up 257% over three years, adding to the sense that it is a real winner.

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

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While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just 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.

Kingstone Companies went from making a loss to reporting a profit, in the last year.

When a company is just on the edge of profitability it can be well worth considering other metrics in order to more precisely gauge growth (and therefore understand share price movements).

We think that the revenue growth of 7.6% could have some investors interested. We do see some companies suppress earnings in order to accelerate revenue growth.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. You can see what analysts are predicting for Kingstone Companies in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Kingstone Companies has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 309% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 28% 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Kingstone Companies that you should be aware of.

Kingstone Companies is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.