Many investors look for stocks offering growth at a reasonable price, meaning a stock that's not overvalued but also offers expansion opportunities. But what if you can get huge growth at a great price?
Momo (MOMO 0.48%), Skechers (SKX +0.00%), and Carrolls Restaurant Group (TAST +0.00%) are three stocks that still offer investing amazing upside potential while trading from a deep value position. Here's why, according to our Foolish investors, you ought to consider these three growth stocks at value stocks prices.
Image source: Getty Images.
China's high-growth live streaming app
Leo Sun (Momo): Momo is a Chinese company that produces an app for broadcasting live video streams and chatting with nearby users. The company's live streaming business became its core growth driver in recent quarters, as viewers purchased paid subscriptions and virtual gifts for their favorite broadcasters.
Momo's growth figures are stunning -- its revenue soared 524% to $246.1 million last year, and its non-GAAP net income surged 674% to $91.5 million. Momo can't keep growing at that feverish clip, but analysts still expect its revenue and earnings to respectively rise 135% and 91% this year.
Last quarter, Momo's revenue rose 215% annually to $312.2 million, its non-GAAP net income grew 218% to $73.8 million, and its monthly active users rose 22% to 91.3 million. Meanwhile, the stock trades at only 23 times trailing earnings and 13 times next year's earnings -- so it's priced more like a value play than a growth one.
But despite Momo's impressive growth figures and low valuation, the stock dropped more than 20% over the past six months -- although it remains up about 60% for the year. That decline was caused by concerns about its slowing growth, slow sequential growth in monthly average users (up just 7% from the first quarter), flat sequential growth in paying users, and rising expenses caused by higher investments in its video platform and higher broadcaster fees.
The ongoing government crackdown on social-media platforms also spooked some investors, although Momo holds an up-to-date broadcasting license with Chinese regulators. Nonetheless, Momo remains an interesting growth stock that trades at very low multiples.
Image source: Skechers.
The shoe's on the other foot
Danny Vena (Skechers): As recently as two years ago, Skechers was a highflier, but the stock fell on hard times in late 2015, as its results failed to keep pace with its nosebleed valuation.
The athletic- and walking-shoe purveyor has strung together several quarters of solid results and is beginning to recover from its slump. Even with the stock's recent run-up, it's still down 36% from its 2015 highs, and it continues to trail the market over the past two years.
That said, the company just reported record quarterly net sales of $1.09 billion, up 16% year over year, with growth across all three of the company's distribution channels. This tally was led by nearly 26% growth in its international wholesale segment. Results were even more impressive in China, growing an eye-popping 50% over the prior-year quarter.
The company-owned retail business also produced notable results, up 18.6% year over year, while same-store sales growth grew a solid 4.4%, bucking the trend other footwear retailers have seen in recent months.
While sales were inspiring, profits absolutely shined. Net earnings jumped to $92.3 million, up 42% year over year.
With all this impressive growth, the market still values this company at only 19 times the average analyst estimate for full-year 2017 earnings, and a forward earnings multiple of just under 18. While that's not a screaming bargain, it's still a big discount to the market, as the broader S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.29%) trades at over 25 times trailing earnings.
Image source: Getty Images.
Bite into this burger joint
Rich Duprey (Carrolls Restaurant Group): The restaurant industry as a whole is still troubled by lower same-store sales, and it suffered its second consecutive month of lower comps in September, in part because of the devastating hurricanes that hit Texas and Florida. But digging down into individual chains, you find that not every operator is having the same trouble.
Carrols Restaurant Group, for example, the largest Burger King franchisee, reported in August that second-quarter comps jumped 4.6% from the year ago period, rebounding sharply from the 0.6% decline in the first quarter. And if you look at Restaurant Brands International (QSR 0.81%), the parent company of Burger King, you'll see it just reported that third-quarter comps were 3.6% higher than last year.
Fast food has made a comeback since the days when fast-casual chains were all the rage, and even Burger King rival McDonald's (MCD 2.37%), which had languished for years with falling sales, is coming on strong, posting positive same-store sales in eight of the past nine quarters.
Carrolls, however, is expected to grow earnings this year by 46%, and Wall Street forecasts that it will be able to expand earnings by 25% annually for the next five years. Despite that, it trades at 19 times trailing earnings and goes for only a fraction of its earnings growth rate and sales. Trading at only seven times the free cash flow it produces after having been knocked back 37% from its 52-week high, Carrolls Restaurant Group looks like a growth stock that's trading like a deep value stock.
