Peter Lynch: Image Source, Wharton University
Everyone has their own investing style, but one thing that so many love to do is emulate the investing style and principles of great investors. One investor that is a great model to emulate is Peter Lynch. His simple, company focused approach that put an emphasis on "buying what you know" and looking for growth is a formula that many investors can emulate.
So in the spirit of Peter Lynch's investment philosophy, we asked three of our contributors to highlight a stock that they think would likely be a candidate for a Peter Lych portfolio today. Here's what they had to say.
George Budwell: Peter Lynch was a master at spotting ultra high-growth companies with stellar long-term prospects. Armed with this concept, I think the small-cap robotic surgery company TransEnterix (ASXC -1.07%) fits the Peter Lynch model of investing almost to a tee.
The first issue to understand is that the robotic surgery market as a whole is expected to grow at an astounding CAGR of 22.2% over the next five years, according to a report by Markets and Markets.
Image Source: TransEnterix
Next up, TransEnterix is building out a highly competitive portfolio of robotic surgery products. Late last year, for instance, the company purchased the ALF-X system for minimally invasive surgery. This system is designed to be more user friendly than Intuitive Surgical's (ISRG -1.69%) da Vinci Surgical System -- a product that reportedly generated $231 million in revenue in the fourth-quarter of 2015.
TransEnterix is also closing in on a regulatory approval for its SurgiBot system indicated for bedside laparoscopic surgeries. As da vinci prohibits surgeons from being within the sterile field, SurgiBot appears to have an important competitive advantage over Intuitive Surgical's flagship product.
The bottom line is that TransEnterix is well-positioned to participate in the rising tide that's occurring across the robotic surgery landscape at the moment, and it even has a shot at eventually overtaking its far larger peer Intuitive Surgical.
Image Source: Under Armour
Andres Cardenal: Peter Lynch achieved stupendous returns over the long term by investing in high-growth companies with powerful brands and abundant room for expansion. Interestingly, Under Armour (UAA 1.81%) looks like the kind of companies Peter Lynch would seriously consider buying nowadays.
The sports clothing company is building an amazing track-record of growth, Under Armour has increased sales at more than 20% annually over the past 25 consecutive quarters. Even better, growth accelerated last quarter, Under Armour announced a year-over-year increase in revenue of 31% in the fourth quarter of 2015, while sales in constant currencies jumped by a staggering 33% versus the fourth quarter of 2014.
The company is rapidly expanding in key areas such as footwear and international markets. Footwear sales grew 95% last quarter, representing nearly 17% of total revenue during the period. Under Armour makes 11% of sales abroad, and international revenue grew 70% in U.S. dollars and 85% in constant currency during the fourth quarter of 2015.
Under Armour is also making big inroads in e-commerce. The direct-to-consumer business represents nearly 30% of revenues, made up of 25 global websites and 400 company-owned and partner retail doors around the world. Nearly 50% of online traffic in the U.S. is coming from mobile, so Under Armour is doing a sound job in this crucial growth segment.
Image source: Helmerich & Payne corporate website
Tyler Crowe: Peter Lynch is well known for the "buy what you know" mantra that led him to invest in companies that are consumer facing. One way that he also had success, though, was in what he called asset opportunities. Basically, its a time when Wall Street wildly overlooks the value of a company's assets because of one reason or another. Can you think of a better way to describe the oil industry right now?
Chances are an oil recovery is still a little ways off. Investments are slowing and its starting to take a toll on overall production, but we still have a ways to go before demand outpaces supply and inventories are drawn down. However, we're getting closer to that time as each day passes, and when prices and drilling activity do rise again, one company with some very undervalued assets is Helmerich & Payne (HP 1.92%).
The shale revolution in the US has changed the dynamics of oil and gas drilling. Instead of taking months of development and hundreds of millions of dollars, a shale well nowadays can go from a fallow field to a producing well in a couple of weeks for a couple million bucks. This means that shale drilling will be one of the first places to see an uptick in activity. As the owner and lessor of the nations largest fleet of shale capable wells, Helmerich & Payne will likely have producers calling pretty quickly once we see an uptick in oil and gas prices. What's even more encouraging is that during this long downturn, Helmerich & Payne has remained in decent financial shape with more cash on the books than total debt.
With shares trading down nearly 60% from their highs 18 months and trading at tangible book value today, Helmerich & Payne is looking more and more like one of those asset opportunities that Peter Lynch liked, and for added bonus this dividend aristocrat will pay out at a 6% yield while you wait for the turnaround to come.
