Are You A Tortoise Or A Hare Investor?

• (0:30) - Investing Styles: The Hare vs The Tortoise
• (5:35) - Value vs Growth Performance
• (10:15) - Growth Stock Screener and Top Picks
• (14:10) - Long Term Stock Screener and Top Picks
• (18:20) - Episode Roundup: VOOG, VOOV, CROX, FIVE, ABBV, JILL
• Podcast@Zacks.com

Welcome to Episode #126 of the Value Investor Podcast

Every week, Tracey Ryniec, the editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio service, shares some of her top value investing tips and stock picks.

This week, it’s all about investing styles.

Do you know what your investing personality is?

The Tortoise or the Hare?

If you like the latest IPOs, the hot tech stocks and get a charge out of news on the pot stocks, you may be a “hare” investor. You want to get to the finish line fast and don’t care what you have to pay to get there.

Conversely, do you like to buy and hold stocks for years? Are you proud of holding onto a single stock for a decade? Do you care more about what you pay for a business than you do the chart?

Then you may be a tortoise investor.

Remember, there’s no “right” answer but most people know what they gravitate towards. If you’re going to invest, you might as well be comfortable in your investing style.

The Hare Is Winning

Over the last 2 years, the growth strategy has been winning the race.

The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG) has crushed the returns of both the S&P 500 and the Value S&P 500 ETF. The growth big caps are up 26% over that two-year period while the S&P 500 is up 15% and the value big caps are up just 4.2%.

But past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns.

2 Top Hare Stocks Right Now

To find some of the top “hare” stocks, aka companies with big growth in both earnings and sales, screen for Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) along with a top 50% Industry Rank.

You can even add a top Zacks Style Score of A or B on top of that in addition to double digit earnings and/or sales growth.

1. Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) is a shoe manufacturer which has found its shoes back on trend. Shares jumped 127% in the last year. It’s not cheap, with a forward P/E of 28.5 but it is seeing big earnings growth. Can it keep the momentum?
2. Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) is a fast-growing retailer for tweens and teens where all the items are priced $5 or below. It has a forward P/E of 44.1 but sales are expected to rise 22% in both fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020. Shares have jumped 76% in the last year. Is there anything left in the tank?

2 Top Tortoise Stocks Right Now

You can run the same screen you ran for growth stocks, but switching out the hyper earnings growth for value fundamentals, to find the tortoise stocks.

Remember to screen for the Zacks Rank as well so that you can get the added advantage of rising earnings estimates.

1. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is really cheap, with a forward P/E of just 9.9. The biopharmaceutical company also has some growth, as it sports a PEG ratio of 0.9. A PEG ratio under 1.0 indicates a company has both value and growth. Over the last year, shares have retreated 16.5% as the drug stocks have been out-of-favor with Wall Street. Is this a buying opportunity?
2. J. Jill (NYSE:JILL) , the women’s apparel and accessory retailer, is trading with a forward P/E of just 8.4. Over the last year, shares have plunged 31%. It’s a small cap and shares remain volatile. They’re also trading under $10 which adds to the volatility. But investors can find some bargains among the retail stocks as they have, once again, gone out of favor.

Remember, just because the hares have had the upper hand the last 2 years, doesn’t mean that they will remain ahead in the race.

What else should you know about investing in the tortoise or hare styles?

Listen to this week’s podcast to find out.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>