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Is T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PRDGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PRDGX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund made its debut in December of 1992, PRDGX has garnered more than $11.09 billion in assets. Thomas J. Huber is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2000.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.68%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.42%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. PRDGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.11% compared to the category average of 15.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.54% compared to the category average of 16.18%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.86. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.61% of its assets in stocks and it has 10.87% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
Non-Durable
Turnover is about 15.5%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PRDGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, PRDGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund ( PRDGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund ( PRDGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PRDGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PRDGX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund made its debut in December of 1992, PRDGX has garnered more than $11.09 billion in assets. Thomas J. Huber is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2000.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.68%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.42%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. PRDGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.11% compared to the category average of 15.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.54% compared to the category average of 16.18%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.86. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.61% of its assets in stocks and it has 10.87% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Industrial Cyclical
- Non-Durable
Turnover is about 15.5%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PRDGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, PRDGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund ( PRDGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund ( PRDGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.