With the S&P 500 hitting new highs and trading above a whopping 40 times earnings, it has become even harder to find good growth stocks that aren't overpriced. Investors have to get creative and examine firms across multiple (perhaps overlooked) industries to find bargains.
Weyerhaeuser (WY 0.72%), Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF 1.07%), and Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG 2.02%) remain good deals for investors, though, despite having gained 142%, 311%, and 150%, respectively, over the past year. Those results well outpaced the S&P 500, which booked an unusually large gain of 63% over the same period. Here's why each of these stocks can further enhance investors' portfolios.
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1. Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser is a timber company that grows trees and sells them for profit. Now, if that sounds a little boring, get this: Lumber prices have doubled over the past year due to pandemic-related supply chain issues and wildfires. In addition, with working-at-home becoming widespread, people are increasingly fleeing cities and moving into suburban and rural areas in search of a better quality of life. That is driving up housing prices and, in turn, the price of lumber.
Investing in Weyerhaeuser would be a brilliant way to capitalize on this trend. Right now, the company owns 11 million acres of forests in the U.S., with an additional 14 million acres licensed in Canada. It operates 35 manufacturing facilities across North America.
Weyerhaeuser also plants about 150 million trees every year and is at the top of its industry in terms of efficiency. It uses up to 95% of the logs it harvests.
Last year, the company grew its revenue by 15% to $7.532 billion. Simultaneously, it posted a $797 million profit -- up from a net loss of $76 million net loss in 2019. Yet one can still buy Weyerhaeuser shares for just 3.6 times revenue and 34 times earnings. At a time when lumber prices continue to soar, Weyerhaeuser would make a wonderful addition to a portfolio. And as an added bonus for a growth stock, it also pays a dividend that is currently yielding around 0.92%.
2. Curaleaf
Curaleaf is the largest cannabis company in the U.S., operating 101 dispensaries across 23 states, more than 30 processing facilities, and 20 cultivation sites. By year's end, it plans to expand its store count to 135.
Product-wise, the company sells 150 different strains of cannabis, plus 100 formulated products like edibles and capsules. In 2020, the company grew its revenue to $626.6 million, compared to just $221 million in 2019. Meanwhile, it generated pre-tax income of $22 million, compared to a loss of $46 million in 2019. That kind of performance is pretty wild considering that Curaleaf opened its first dispensary only six years ago.
At the moment, Curaleaf is your best bet to make money off the $21 billion U.S. legal marijuana market. In terms of valuation, its stock is also the most expensive on our list, trading at 13 times revenue. However, paying a premium for a company that's growing its sales by more than 180% year over year is pretty reasonable. This is definitely a stock that cannabis investors will not want to miss.
3. Scotts Miracle-Gro
Scotts Miracle-Gro is a major supplier of gardening, lawn care, hydroponics, and indoor growing equipment. During its fiscal 2021 first quarter, which ended Jan. 2, its revenue rose by an astonishing 105% year over year to $748.6 million. Meanwhile, the company flipped from a loss of $1.28 per share to a profit of $0.43 per share.
Much of its growth has come from the booming marijuana industry's players, and from individual Americans who are opting to grow cannabis plants at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of Scotts Miracle-Gro's best performing segments was its AeroGarden subsidiary, which supplies hydroponic apparatus to grow herbs and vegetables indoors. Sales doubled over the past year due in part to new demand from millennials.
Unlike a traditional distributor, Scotts Miracle-Gro partners with commercial cultivators to create the best products available for them. It is currently expanding its research and development into experimental cannabis strains, nutrient formulations, and plant genetics.
Considering the speed of its growth, you may be surprised to hear that Scotts Miracle-Gro stock is only trading at 3.1 times sales and 29 times earnings. That's a pretty reasonable price for shares of a high-flying agricultural firm. And as icing on the cake, the company pays a dividend that at the current share price yields 0.98%.
