Investors are always hunting for the next big stock -- the dream stock whose price increases several times over when the market finally discovers it. It's easy to look back and see what the 10 best stocks of the past decade were. But for my part, I'm more interested in the tools that can not only help me find new stock ideas, but also have the resources necessary to evaluate tomorrow's greatest companies.
There is a tool that offers a variety of resources to help with finding tomorrow's leaders: Motley Fool CAPS.
We've enlisted CAPS to screen for top real estate stocks and get the story behind them. CAPS' nifty screener will help us find stocks with:
- A market cap of at least $100 million.
- A three year revenue growth rate of at least 20%.
- A price-to-earnings ratio of less than 25.
Then we'll tap the collective intelligence of our 115,000-plus CAPS investors to see whether these companies present real opportunities -- or whether the numbers fail to tell the true story.
Opinions with the numbers
Here's a sampling from the list of stocks our screen pulled up today.
|
Company |
Revenue Growth Rate, Past 3 Years |
CAPS Rating (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|
|
LoopNet |
57.7% |
***** |
|
Anthracite Capital |
33.3% |
***** |
|
Jones Lang Lasalle |
26.5% |
***** |
|
Health Care REIT |
22.5% |
***** |
Data and star rankings from CAPS. All data as of Aug. 15.
LoopNet
LoopNet's online commercial real estate marketplace has the largest network of its kind, connecting buyers and sellers in a way akin to the eBay
Anthracite Capital
Some investors think real estate investment trust Anthracite Capital has been dragged down with the rest of the sector unfairly, as it has lost nearly 40% of its value in the past year. But as the Federal Reserve continues to step in and ensure the liquidity of the capital markets, some see the potential for things to change for the better. To better navigate the tough investment market, Anthracite cut expenses by 8%, helping bring its second-quarter profit up 22% to $25.2 million. And over the past 12 months the company has pursued investment opportunities in markets mostly outside the U.S., although as U.S. pricing levels continue to decline, more domestic opportunities are appearing. Even in a tough real estate market, 97% of the 264 of CAPS members expect Anthracite Capital to outperform the market.
Jones Lang LaSalle
Management services provider Jones Lang LaSalle has a large global presence and operates in more than 100 markets in 50 countries. With about two-thirds of its revenue coming from outside the U.S., the company isn't feeling the effects of the current credit market troubles as much as the next guy. With shares down 30% year-to-date, many long-term investors see a buying opportunity with its big, global client list featuring clients like Merrill Lynch
Health Care REIT
As a real estate investment trust specializing in health-care facilities, Health Care REIT has proven to be a safe harbor for investors in a nasty real estate market, with a decent 9% return for 2007. In general, REITs specializing in health care have strong balance sheets and continue to expand their development pipelines as lenders are more willing to provide them credit. Riding larger trends of aging baby boomers and paying a nice dividend that currently yields 5.2% has kept investor interest in Health Care REIT high. And CAPS reflects this, with 96% of the members rating Health Care REIT an "outperform."
Let 115,000 members be the judge
The collective wisdom of a huge pool of investors can help give context to a page of numbers developed through a stock screen. But even with an entire community of qualified opinions acting as the judge, individual investors are still the jury and should perform their own due diligence.
Want to run your favorite parameters through the CAPS screener? You can even give your own opinion -- both good and bad -- on any company you wish in Motley Fool CAPS.
