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Growth investors focus on stocks that are seeing above-average financial growth, as this feature helps these securities garner the market's attention and deliver solid returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.
Our proprietary system currently recommends Group 1 Automotive (GPI - Free Report) as one such stock. This company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.
While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this auto dealer is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:
Earnings Growth
Earnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for Group 1 Automotive is 43.1%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 22.9% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 21.3%.
Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio
Growth investors often overlook asset utilization ratio, also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio, but it is an important feature of a real growth stock. This metric shows how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.
Right now, Group 1 Automotive has an S/TA ratio of 2.72, which means that the company gets $2.72 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 2.01, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And Group 1 Automotive looks attractive from a sales growth perspective as well. The company's sales are expected to grow 20.3% this year versus the industry average of 18.1%.
Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions
Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for Group 1 Automotive have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 4.4% over the past month.
Bottom Line
Group 1 Automotive has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.
Image: Bigstock
3 Reasons Why Growth Investors Shouldn't Overlook Group 1 Automotive (GPI)
Growth investors focus on stocks that are seeing above-average financial growth, as this feature helps these securities garner the market's attention and deliver solid returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.
Our proprietary system currently recommends Group 1 Automotive (GPI - Free Report) as one such stock. This company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.
While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this auto dealer is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:
Earnings Growth
Earnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for Group 1 Automotive is 43.1%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 22.9% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 21.3%.
Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio
Growth investors often overlook asset utilization ratio, also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio, but it is an important feature of a real growth stock. This metric shows how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.
Right now, Group 1 Automotive has an S/TA ratio of 2.72, which means that the company gets $2.72 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 2.01, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And Group 1 Automotive looks attractive from a sales growth perspective as well. The company's sales are expected to grow 20.3% this year versus the industry average of 18.1%.
Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions
Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for Group 1 Automotive have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 4.4% over the past month.
Bottom Line
Group 1 Automotive has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination positions Group 1 Automotive well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.