Is Enova International (ENVA) a Solid Growth Stock? 3 Reasons to Think " Yes "
Growth investors focus on stocks that are seeing above-average financial growth, as this feature helps these securities garner the market's attention and deliver solid returns. But finding a growth stock that can live up to its true potential can be a tough task.
In addition to volatility, these stocks carry above-average risk by their very nature. Also, one could end up losing from a stock whose growth story is actually over or nearing its end.
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.
Enova International (ENVA) 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.
Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform 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).
Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this online financial services company a great growth pick right now.
Earnings Growth
Arguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. 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 Enova International is 4.9%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 39.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 16.1%.
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, Enova International has an S/TA ratio of 0.88, which means that the company gets $0.88 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.25, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And Enova International is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 12.2% this year versus the industry average of 4.8%.
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.
There have been upward revisions in current-year earnings estimates for Enova International. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 18.8% over the past month.
Bottom Line
While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made Enova International a Zacks Rank #1 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 Enova International well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.
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