Like the song says, investors are looking for stocks to love in all the wrong places. They'll pile into the momentum stocks that everyone else buys but ignore lesser-known opportunities for fear of straying from the crowd.
Yet the search for undiscovered jewels has informed many of our Motley Fool Hidden Gems picks, from Under Armour to Vail Resorts. Overlooked by Wall Street and Main Street, and thus undervalued, these stocks hold the best potential to deliver outsized returns.
The Motley Fool CAPS community knows a bargain when it sees one. Below, you'll find several under-the-radar stocks that brim with promise. These companies have garnered 100 or less active recommendations on CAPS, despite double-digit growth in earnings over the past three years.
|
Stock |
CAPS Rating (out of 5) |
No. of Active Picks |
Trailing 3-Year EPS Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alamo Group |
**** |
67 |
15% |
|
Argon ST |
*** |
90 |
13% |
|
Corporate Offices Properties Trust |
* |
100 |
36% |
Source: Motley Fool CAPS.
Naturally, we want you to look a bit closer at these stocks before buying. Maybe investors are staying away from these stocks for a reason so make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with the company before you plug it into your own portfolio.
Under the radar
Investors aren't expecting to use Alamo Group's highway maintenance and agricultural equipment to make a last-stand defense, given its four-star rating.
Although more than half of Alamo's North American revenue comes from its industrial segment, which sells to government agencies, it was Alamo's agricultural segment that saw revenue growth in the recent quarter. The agricultural segment sells equipment to farmers and ranchers to clear brush, maintain pastures, and assist in haymaking, and its sales growth outstripped that of Alamo's European division, which comprises 40% of its total revenue.
Compared to peers like Caterpillar
Of the 67 CAPS members rating the equipment operator, 88% believe it will be able to make hay and beat the broad market averages. Head over to the Alamo Group CAPS page and mow down those ideas on why you would agree or disagree.
Playing defense
Government might be spending money hand over fist, but not always where you want it. That's what Argon ST investors found out when the military contractor reported second-quarter revenue and earnings that were below last year's efforts and analyst expectations. The defense electronics maker cut its full-year revenue forecast because the government cancelled a contract.
However, the company (and the stock) are still buoyed by the prospect that Boeing
Even though it is a takeover candidate, CAPS member gtucker7848 liked Argon ST on its own because of the general strength of its business prospects:
Great homeland security play. Consistenty stealing market share away from larger companies for several years. Looks like a possible takeover candidate.
Open spaces
Although the last thing we'd seem to need right now is yet another office park, considering the already-tender condition of the commercial real estate market, Corporate Office Properties Trust is also hoping for a little government largesse to come its way as it seeks to build a 15-acre, one million square foot office park in Northern Virginia. As the military realigns its workers and defense contractors, COPT hopes an influx of more than 19,000 military members and defense contractors to a nearby base will ultimately make the office complex an attractive investment.
CAPS members seem to think that's a risky ploy in the current environment, and 64% of the 100 members rating the real-estate investment trust think it will underperform the market. This is your chance to claim the corner office on the COPT CAPS page and tell us why more office space in a saturated market is a good idea.
Keep a high profile
Sign up today for the completely free Motley Fool CAPS service, and tell us whether these low profile stocks are on their way to higher returns. There, you can read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made, all from a stock's CAPS page.
