Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6519
    -0.0017 (-0.26%)
     
  • OIL

    83.11
    +1.76 (+2.16%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,254.80
    +42.10 (+1.90%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    108,600.36
    +2,453.05 (+2.31%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • AUD/EUR

    0.6036
    +0.0006 (+0.09%)
     
  • AUD/NZD

    1.0904
    +0.0024 (+0.22%)
     
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,254.69
    -26.15 (-0.14%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.49
    +15.40 (+0.08%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Looking for a Growth Stock? 3 Reasons Why Colgate-Palmolive (CL) is a Solid Choice

Growth stocks are attractive to many investors, as above-average financial growth helps these stocks easily grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a great growth stock is not easy at all.

That's because, these stocks usually carry above-average risk and volatility. In fact, betting on a stock for which the growth story is actually over or nearing its end could lead to significant loss.

However, it's pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks with the help of 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.

Our proprietary system currently recommends Colgate-Palmolive (CL) as one such stock. This company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.

ADVERTISEMENT

Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this consumer products maker 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. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.

While the historical EPS growth rate for Colgate-Palmolive is 0.7%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 1.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of -2.8%.

Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio

Asset utilization ratio -- also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio -- is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric exhibits how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.

Right now, Colgate-Palmolive has an S/TA ratio of 1.09, which means that the company gets $1.09 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.86, it can be said that the company is more efficient.

While the level of efficiency in generating sales matters a lot, so does the sales growth of a company. And Colgate-Palmolive is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 0.4% this year versus the industry average of 0%.

Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions

Superiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable 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 Colgate-Palmolive have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 0.2% over the past month.

Bottom Line

Colgate-Palmolive 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 Colgate-Palmolive well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.


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
 
ColgatePalmolive Company (CL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.