3 Reasons Why 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) Is a Great Growth Stock
Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities 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, 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, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.
1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) is on the list of such stocks currently recommended by our proprietary system. In addition to a favorable Growth Score, it carries a top Zacks Rank.
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 flower and gift retailer 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. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for 1-800-Flowers.com is 31.6%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 89.8% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 9.7%.
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, 1-800-Flowers.com has an S/TA ratio of 2.1, which means that the company gets $2.1 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 2.06, 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 1-800-Flowers.com is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 41.5% this year versus the industry average of 5.3%.
Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions
Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus 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 1-800-Flowers.com have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 5.1% over the past month.
Bottom Line
While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made 1-800-Flowers.com a Zacks Rank #2 stock, it has earned itself a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination positions 1-800-Flowers.com well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.
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1800 FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (FLWS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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