Growth focused investors may be interested in the following stocks, as their price-earnings ratios stand below 20 and their earnings per share have grown meaningfully over the past year.
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc
The first company that meets the above listed criteria is Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc (IRWD, Financial), a Boston, Massachusetts-based drug manufacturer that develops and commercializes treatments to resolve gastrointestinal problems.
The company’s trailing 12-month earnings grew to 54 cents per diluted share as of the first quarter of 2020, a positive switch from a net loss of $2.52 per diluted share in the same quarter of 2019.
The price-earnings ratio is 18.68 (versus the industry median of 24.09) as of July 22.
As a result of a 7.11% decline over the past year, the stock price traded at $9.90 per share at close on Wednesday for a market capitalization of $1.58 billion and a 52-week range of $7.91 to $14.10.
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc does not pay dividends.
GuruFocus rated both the financial strength and the profitability of the company with a score of 3 out of 10.
Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight rating for this stock and have established an average target price of $12.17 per share.
QIWI PLC
The second company that holds the criteria is QIWI PLC (QIWI, Financial), a Cypriot electronic online payment systems operator in several countries of eastern Europe, including Russia, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates.
The company’s trailing 12-month earnings grew by 37.4% year over year to $1.25 per diluted share as of the first quarter of 2020, up from 91 cents per diluted share as of the prior year quarter.
The price-earnings ratio is 14.22 (versus the industry median of 9.53) as of July 22.
Following an 8.52% decline over the past year, the stock price was trading at $18.75 per share at close on Wednesday for a market capitalization of $1.18 billion and a 52-week range of $8.62 to $25.25.
QIWI PLC has been paying dividends for almost six years. The company paid a quarterly cash dividend of 14 cents per common share on June 10.
GuruFocus assigned a good score of 7 out of 10 to the company’s financial strength and a high score of 8 out of 10 to its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts issued a buy rating for this stock and have established an average target price of $24 per share.
UnitedHealth Group Inc
The third company that meets the criteria is UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH, Financial), a Minnetonka, Minnesota-based diversified healthcare company.
The company’s trailing 12-month EPS grew by 33.7% year over year to $17.79 as of the first quarter of 2020, up from $13.31 in the prior year quarter.
The price-earnings ratio is 17.23 (versus the industry median of 18.44) as of July 22.
As a result of a 22.13% increase over the past year, the stock price traded at $306.71 per share at close on Wednesday for a market capitalization of $290.88 billion and a 52-week range of $187.72 to $315.84.
UnitedHealth Group Inc has been paying dividends for almost 20 years. On June 30, the company distributed a quarterly cash dividend of $1.25 per share.
GuruFocus assigned a score of 6 out of 10 for the company’s financial strength and a score of 8 out of 10 for its profitability.
Wall Street sell-side analysts issued a buy recommendation rating for this stock and have established an average target price of $343 per share.
Disclosure: I have no position in any securities mentioned in this article.
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