Buying a low-cost index fund will get you the average market return. But across the board there are plenty of stocks that underperform the market. That's what has happened with the BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) share price. It's up 18% over three years, but that is below the market return. Zooming in, the stock is up a respectable 11% in the last year.

Since it's been a strong week for BJ's Restaurants shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for BJ's Restaurants

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 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 three years of share price growth, BJ's Restaurants moved from a loss to profitability. So we would expect a higher share price over the period.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that BJ's Restaurants has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling BJ's Restaurants stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

BJ's Restaurants provided a TSR of 11% over the last twelve months. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 3% per year over five year. This could indicate that the company is winning over new investors, as it pursues its strategy. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for BJ's Restaurants that you should be aware of before investing here.

But note: BJ's Restaurants may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.