Looking for a Growth Stock? 3 Reasons Why Infosys (INFY) is a Solid Choice
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. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it 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.
Our proprietary system currently recommends Infosys (INFY) as one such stock. This company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also 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).
Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this business consulting services provider 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 Infosys is 5.4%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 11.2% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 10%.
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, Infosys has an S/TA ratio of 1, which means that the company gets $1 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.71, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And Infosys looks attractive from a sales growth perspective as well. The company's sales are expected to grow 12.3% this year versus the industry average of 7.1%.
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 Infosys. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 0.2% over the past month.
Bottom Line
While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made Infosys a Zacks Rank #2 stock, it has earned itself a Growth Score of B 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 Infosys well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.
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