If you are looking for investment opportunities among U.S.-listed equities, you may want to consider the stocks of companies that have seen their free cash flow increase significantly over recent years. As a result, these businesses should be flexible enough to continue to support the development of projects and return cash to shareholders.
The following three stocks meet the above criteria. Furthermore, Wall Street sell-side analysts have recommended positive ratings for these stocks, meaning that their share prices are expected to improve in the months ahead.
Synopsys Inc
The first company that investors may want to consider is Synopsys Inc (SNPS, Financial), a Mountain View, California-based designer of automation software products that are used to design and test semiconductors.
The company has seen its free cash flow per share increase by 6.10% per year over the last 10 years, by 10.80% per year over the last five years and by 49% over the last 12 months.
Analysts estimate that the company will keep growing its earnings per share (EPS) by 22.90% this year, by 12% in 2022, and by 16% per year over the next five years.
On Wall Street, as of November, the stock has four strong buys, three buys and two hold recommendation ratings.
The share price ($348.26 as of Nov. 9) has risen by nearly 55% over the past year for a market capitalization of $53.11 billion and a 52-week range of $211.20 to $348.39.
Ingersoll Rand Inc
The second company to consider is Ingersoll Rand Inc (IR, Financial), a Davidson, North Carolina-based provider of various mission-critical air, fluid, energy, specialty vehicle and various medical technologies.
The company has seen its free cash flow per share increase by 38.50% per year over the last five years and by 6.50% over the last 12 months.
Analysts estimate that the company's EPS will increase by 26.50% this year, by 15.30% in 2022 and by 19.82% per year over the next five years.
On Wall Street, as of November, the stock has five strong buys, two buys and 14 hold recommendation ratings.
The share price ($59.50 as of Nov. 9) has risen by nearly 40% over the past year for a market capitalization of $24.25 billion and a 52-week range of $40.64 to $59.56.
Logitech International SA
The third company that investors may want to consider is Logitech International SA (LOGI, Financial), a Swiss designer and producer of a variety of consumer electronics products for computing, gaming, music, video and other digital platforms.
The company has seen its free cash flow per share increase by 23.40% per year over the last 10 years, by 42.4% per year over the last five years and by 17.80% over the last 12 months.
Analysts expect that the EPS of the company will decline by 31.3% this year and increase by 8.40% in 2022. Over the next five years, the EPS is expected to decline by 6.4% per year on average.
On Wall Street, as of November, the stock has one strong buy, one buy and two hold recommendation ratings.
The share price ($79.45 as of Nov. 9) has fallen by 4.10% over the past year, determining a market capitalization of $13.35 billion and a 52-week range of $78.76 to $140.17.
