You don't need a portfolio full of high-growth stocks to make a lot of money in the market. Famed investor Peter Lynch said you only needed a couple of stocks to rise tenfold over your lifetime to do well in investing. So if you were right just 60% of the time about a stock going up, you likely would do well.
That means finding solid businesses with good prospects for growth over the long haul will suit most investors. While it would be nice to see your stock picks rise a gazillion percent, a steadily improving company will do your portfolio wonders over the course of your investing life.
The following two companies are expected to do just that. Wall Street is forecasting sturdy increases in sales and earnings that should result in their share prices rising as much as 39% and 42%, respectively, in just the next year.
Image source: Getty Images.
Restaurant Brands International
As the owner of Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Tim Hortons, Restaurant Brands International (QSR -0.75%) covers some of the most popular quick-serve spaces in the food industry: burgers, chicken, and coffee.
It created something of a cultural phenomenon when Popeyes introduced its fried chicken sandwich that had customers lining up around the block to purchase one. And that was even before the pandemic had us practicing social distancing that extended the lines even further.
The salvo it launched in the chicken sandwich wars shook the restaurant industry to such a degree that everyone suddenly needed to have their own version to ride the wave. While the public's enthusiasm for the Popeyes sandwich has eased some, with comparable sales down 0.3% in the latest quarter following last year's near-25% rise, sales are still growing.
That's OK, though, because Burger King and Tim Hortons are picking up the slack; their own comps ran 18% and 28% higher, respectively, last quarter. It's also particularly gratifying to see the coffee shop's return to growth as Restaurant Brands suffered through a period when Tim Hortons' growth struggled.
However, the burger joint is the biggest chain Restaurant Brands has in terms of locations and sales. Burger King's revenues came in at $5.89 billion last quarter, up 38% year over year.
Analysts see the restaurant stock growing sales at a compounded annual rate of 10% annually for the next five years, but expect earnings to expand at nearly twice that rate. The consensus calls for Restaurant Brands International stock to grow 19% over the next 12 months, but with a high price target of $86 per share in the mix, the quick-serve operator could see 39% gains in the months ahead.
Image source: Getty Images.
Dick's Sporting Goods
When the only activities you're allowed during a lockdown are to go outdoors, a sporting goods outfitter like Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS -0.62%) is going to excel. And it did, with record comps growth of 10% in 2020.
Yet consumers haven't stopped going outdoors, and Dick's second-quarter comps were jumping 19% year over year. That might not be so surprising considering retail stores were forced to close by the coronavirus outbreak last year, but they were also 45% above 2019's level.
Dick's strength has come from its e-commerce platform that it has been steadily building up over time, but which really came into its own last year as a matter of necessity. Where digital sales had previously represented 16% of total sales, they surged to 30% in 2020. That percentage has eased back to 18% as stores have reopened, but online sales are still 111% higher than they were pre-pandemic.
Sales and earnings are still at record levels this period for the sporting goods retailer, and Wall Street is looking for revenue to jump 20% for the full year and earnings to almost double to $8 per share. Dick's is expecting even better, with adjusted earnings ranging from $12.45 to $12.95 per share (analysts' expectations typically don't include one-time items, which a company's adjusted guidance takes into account).
Analysts have a consensus price target of $152 per share, or 25% above Dick's Sporting Goods recent price. At least one analyst thinks it can go as high as $173 per share, giving the sporting goods leader 43% more upside.
