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 discover the 10 best stocks of the past decade. But I'm more interested in the tools that can help us evaluate tomorrow's greatest companies.
Motley Fool CAPS offers a variety of resources to aid Fools in finding tomorrow's leaders. Our 130,000-member community is all about investors helping each other beat the market.
We'll enlist CAPS to screen for mining companies, then get the story behind some of the stocks that the community has taken a real shine to. 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 CAPS members to see whether these companies present real opportunities.
Opinions with the numbers
Below is a sample of stocks my screen returned. You can run this screen yourself. (Your results may differ as the market changes.)
|
Company |
Revenue Growth Rate, Past 3 Years |
CAPS Rating
|
|---|---|---|
|
Aluminum Corp. of China |
33.0% |
***** |
|
Cameco |
29.7% |
***** |
|
Yamana Gold |
196.8% |
**** |
As of April 9.
Aluminum Corp. of China (aka Chinalco)
After a big drop in earnings last year, Chinese aluminum giant Chinalco is already witnessing a rebound in Chinese aluminum prices because of government stimulus measures and a recovery in demand.
In the weakened commodity markets, the Chinese have been taking advantage of depressed prices to prepare for future increased commodities demand with strategic investments around the world. A pending deal with Rio Tinto is expected to expand Chinalco's investment in commodities, adding to the stake that it took with Alcoa
The latest deal is backed by cheap financing and is expected to provide strong returns. The $21 billion in financing for the deal is being arranged by China Development Bank. The initial rate on the loan is less than one-third of the 9.25% coupon that Rio Tinto will pay Chinalco on $7.2 billion of convertible bonds.
More than 96% of the 3,553 CAPS members rating Aluminum Corp. of China expect it to outperform the market.
Cameco
Canadian uranium miner Cameco pulled in record revenue of $2.3 billion in 2008. While the mining industry has scaled back operations and production, Cameco remains confidently focused on long-term strategies. It has inked long-term contracts with stable electrical utilities that maintain high capacity during tough times, helping the company ride out volatility in the spot price market.
Many CAPS members echo the company's expectations for the industry's future and expect significant nuclear energy growth over the next decade in China, India, and even smaller countries such as Sweden. While uranium provider USEC
CAPS members have long been big fans of Cameco, with 97% of the 1,398 members rating the company today believing it will beat the market.
Yamana Gold
Canadian-based miner Yamana Gold generated record revenue for 2008, despite a sharp decline in prices for some metals. Similar to Agnico-Eagle Mines
The company plans big production increases in 2009 and beyond, giving nearly 97% of the 3,505 CAPS members rating Yamana Gold reason to be bullish.
Let 130,000 members be the jury
The collective wisdom of a huge pool of investors can help give context to a page of numbers from a stock screen -- but individual investors are still the judge. Fools should always perform their own due diligence.
Run your favorite factors through the Motley Fool CAPS screener. It's totally free, and we think you'll like the results.
