Investors on the lookout for stocks with the potential for maximum growth and value investing may consider the growth at a reasonable price or GARP strategy.
This popular strategy helps investors gain exposure to stocks with impressive growth prospects that are trading at a discount. GARP investing employs popular value metrics — price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-book value (P/B) ratio — to evaluate whether a stock is undervalued.
GARP Metrics – Mix of Growth & Value Metrics
The GARP strategy seeks to offer an ideal investment by utilizing the best features of both value and growth investing. Investors adopting the GARP approach will prefer to buy stocks that are priced below the market or any reasonable target determined by fundamental analysis. These stocks also have solid prospects in cash flow, revenues, earnings per share (EPS) and so on.
Growth Metrics
Both strong earnings growth history and impressive earnings prospects are the main concepts that GARP investors borrow from the growth investing strategy. However, instead of super-normal growth rates, pursuing stocks with a more stable and reasonable growth rate is also a tactic of GARP investors. Hence, growth rates between 10% and 30% are considered ideal under the GARP strategy.
Another growth metric that is considered by both growth and GARP investors is return on equity (ROE). GARP investors look for strong and higher ROE compared to the industry average to identify superior stocks. Moreover, stocks with positive cash flow find precedence under the GARP plan.
Value Metrics
GARP investing gives priority to one of the popular value metrics – price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Though this investing style picks stocks with higher P/E ratios compared to value investors, it avoids companies with extremely high P/E ratios. Moreover, the price-to-book value (P/B) ratio is also considered.
Using the GARP principle, we have run a screen to identify stocks that should offer solid returns in the near term.
Screening Parameters
Along with the criteria discussed in the above section, we have considered a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
Last 5-year EPS & projected 3–5 year EPS growth rates between 10% and 30% (Strong EPS growth history and prospects ensure improving business.)
ROE (over the past 12 months) greater than the industry average (Higher ROE compared to the industry average indicates superior stocks.)
P/E and P/B ratios less than M-industry average (P/E and P/B ratios less than that of the industry indicate that the stocks are undervalued.)
Here are five of the seven stocks that made it through the screen:
Lam Research Corporation LRCX is a supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.02%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Teradyne, Inc. TER is a leading provider of automated test equipment. The company is primarily focused on the semiconductor test market, which generates the bulk of its revenues. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 16.39%, on average.
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. ORLY is a specialty retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment and accessories in the United States. It sells products to both Do-it-Yourself (DIY) customers, Do-it-for-Me (DIFM) and professional installers. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20.52%, on average.
KLA Corporation KLAC is an original equipment manufacturer of process diagnostics and control equipment and yield management solutions required for the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits or chips. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.58%, on average.
Intuit Inc. INTU is a business and financial software company that develops and sells financial, accounting and tax preparation software and related services. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 30.37%, on average.
Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and back testing software.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
KLA Corporation (KLAC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Lam Research Corporation (LRCX): Free Stock Analysis Report
OReilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Intuit Inc. (INTU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Teradyne, Inc. (TER): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
