If you want to compound wealth in the stock market, you can do so by buying an index fund. But you can do a lot better than that by buying good quality businesses for attractive prices. For example, the Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) share price is 77% higher than it was five years ago, which is more than the market average. It's also good to see a healthy gain of 22% in the last year.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Hyatt Hotels

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...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the five years of share price growth, Hyatt Hotels moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we'd hope to see the share price to rise.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We know that Hyatt Hotels has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Hyatt Hotels' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Hyatt Hotels' TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 22%. Most would be happy with a gain, and it helps that the year's return is actually better than the average return over five years, which was 12%. It is possible that management foresight will bring growth well into the future, even if the share price slows down. 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 3 warning signs for Hyatt Hotels (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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.