Here's Why Cohen & Steers (CNS) Stock Is A Must Buy Now

It seems to be a wise idea to add Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) stock to your portfolio now, given its diverse products and investment strategies that are expected to continue supporting revenue growth. Also, steadily improving assets under management (AUM) balance is likely to be one of the key drivers for the company in the long run.

The stock has been witnessing upward estimate revisions, reflecting analysts’ optimism regarding its earnings growth potential. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has been revised nearly 1% and 1.7% upward for 2019 and 2020, respectively. Thus, the stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The company’s price performance also seems impressive. The stock has jumped 91.4% so far this year, outperforming the industry’s growth of 9%.



What Makes Cohen & Steers an Attractive Investment Option

Revenue strength: Driven by improving AUM balance, the company’s revenues increased at a CAGR of 2.1% over the last five years (2014-2018). In fact, the trend is expected to continue in the near term as can be seen from its projected sales growth rates of 7.8% for 2019 and 13.1% for 2020.

Earnings growth: Cohen & Steers witnessed earnings growth of nearly 11% in the past three-five years, higher than the industry average of 5.8%. This momentum is likely to continue in the near term as reflected by its projected earnings growth rate of 4.6% for 2019 and 15.9% for 2020.

Further, the company’s long-term (three to five years) estimated earnings growth rate of 8.2% promises rewards for investors in the long run.

Also, the stock has a Growth Score of A. Our research shows that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential.

Impressive capital deployment: Cohen & Steers is actively involved in capital deployment activities. Since 2011, it has been increasing quarterly dividend annually, with the latest one announced in February. Further, the company announced a special dividend in November 2019. Driven by a strong liquidity position, no debt and consistently improving earnings, the capital deployments look sustainable.

Strong leverage: Cohen & Steers’ debt/equity ratio is nil against the industry’s current debt/equity ratio of 0.25. This shows that the company will be financially stable, even in adverse economic conditions.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE): Cohen & Steers’ ROE of 48.33% compares favorably with the industry’s average of 12.67%. This highlights the company’s commendable position over its peers in using shareholders’ funds.

Other Stocks Worth a Look

Over the past 30 days, Hilltop Holdings (NYSE:HTH) witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 13% for the current year. Its share price has surged 41.4% year to date. The stock sports a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings estimates of Moody's (NYSE:MCO) for 2019 have been revised 1.6% upward over the past 30 days. Its shares have jumped 56.2% so far this year. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Over the past 30 days, Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Vance’s (NYSE:EV) fiscal 2019 earnings estimates have remained unchanged. Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 company have rallied 35.9% so far this year.

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.

See their latest picks free >>

Moody's Corporation (MCO): Free Stock Analysis Report

Cohen & Steers Inc (CNS): Free Stock Analysis Report

Eaton Vance Corporation (EV): Free Stock Analysis Report

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research