3 Stocks Winking at Growth-Focused Investors

The following companies could be appealing to growth-focused investors since their stocks have price-earnings ratios below 20, while their trailing 12-month earnings per share have grown significantly over the past year.

Cannae Holdings

The first company that qualifies is Cannae Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CNNE).

Based in Las Vegas, Cannae Holdings focuses on taking both minority and majority interest stakes in several industries, preferring financial services, restaurants and high tech-assisted health care services.

The trailing 12-month basic net earnings increased enormously over the past year, as they were $16.45 per share as of the most recent quarter (which ended on Sept. 28), versus 98 cents per share as of the prior-year quarter.

The price-earnings ratio is 2.77 (versus the industry median of 34.22) as of Dec. 17.

Following a 16.74% increase over the past year, the stock closed at $43.86 per share on Thursday for a market capitalization of $4.02 billion and a 52-week range of $20.51 to $44.87.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with CNNE. Click here to check it out.
• CNNE 30-Year Financial Data
• The intrinsic value of CNNE
• Peter Lynch Chart of CNNE

Cannae is currently not paying dividends to its shareholders.

The company's financial strength was rated 6 out of 10 while the profitability was rated 2 out of 10 by GuruFocus.

On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of buy and an average target price of $52 per share.

StealthGas

The second company that meets the criteria is StealthGas Inc. (NASDAQ:GASS), a Greek marine shipping company providing its services to liquefied petroleum gas producers and users worldwide.

The trailing 12-month net earnings increased dramatically over the past year, as they were 45 cents per share as of the most recent quarter (which ended on Sept. 28), up from 3 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

The price-earnings ratio is 8.84 (versus the industry median of 18.06) as of Dec. 17.

Following a 41.22% decrease over the past year, the stock closed at $2.21 per share on Thursday for a market capitalization of $83.67 million and a 52-week range of $1.51 to $3.8.

Currently, StealthGas is not paying dividends to its shareholders. The last payment was made in March 2009.

GuruFocus assigned a score of 4 out of 10 to the company's financial strength and a 6 out of 10 rating to its profitability.

On Wall Street, the stock has a one recommendation rating of buy and a target price of $4 per share.

Lincoln Educational Services

The third company that makes the cut is Lincoln Educational Services Corp. (NASDAQ:LINC).

Based in West Orange, New Jersey, Lincoln Educational Services is a provider of a broad range of education services to guide both categories of high school graduates and working adults during their careers in the United States.

The trailing 12-month net earnings were 35 cents per diluted share as of the most recent quarter (which ended on Sept. 28), reflecting a positive shift from a net loss of 9 cents per diluted share as of the same quarter in 2019.

The price-earnings ratio is 19.6 (versus the industry median of 21.43) as of Dec. 17.

Following a 198.26% increase over the past year, the stock closed at $6.86 per share on Thursday for a market capitalization of $181.63 million and a 52-week range of $1.69 to $8.99.

Lincoln Educational Services is currently not paying dividends to its shareholders. The past payment was made in December 2014.

GuruFocus assigned a score of 5 out of 10 for the company's financial strength and a score of 4 out of 10 for its profitability.

On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of buy and an average target price of $9.19 per share.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned in this article.

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