What are we looking for?
In the second quarter, fiscal and monetary interventions were massive and to some extent, stronger than the shock from the COVID-19. As a result of these interventions, U.S. consumers’ disposable income is 6% higher than it was in January, leaving them with more money than before the crisis.
The economy appears to be recovering quickly with U.S. retail sales growing at 1.1% year-over-year favoring cyclical stocks. We will look at U.S. large caps operating in the consumer discretionary sector. These are serious candidates where consumers could spend their extra cash.
The screen (click here to access the screen through Stockpointer)
We screened U.S. companies focusing on the following criteria:
- Market capitalization higher than 15 billion;
- StockPointer (SP) Performance Score of more than 75 – The score mainly considers risk-adjusted return on capital and free cash flow per share. The score varies between zero and 100;
- Return on capital (5Y mean) higher than 12% – We look for a firm with a considerable return on capital. Consumer discretionary stocks have profited from the last economic boom so we can set a high return on capital;
- Positive 3 month change in sales – We want a business whose sales have not been hit too hard by the COVID-19;
- Positive 1Y dividend growth – We look for a company that didn’t stop to increase its dividend.
For informational purposes, we have also included recent, stock price, dividend yield, one-year price return, net operating profit (NOP) change over 24 months, return on capital and earnings per share growth (5Y-mean);
More about Inovestor
Inovestor for Advisors is a fundamental-analysis research platform specializing in the economic value-added (EVA) approach. With Inovestor, advisers can quickly identify attractive investment opportunities, outsource their stock picking by using model portfolios, and easily communicate investment decisions with clients through client-friendly reports. In addition, Inovestor allows users to create personalized filters, build custom portfolios and carry out in-depth analysis on more than 13,000 companies (Canadian and U.S. stocks and American depositary receipts).
| TICKER | NAME | PRICE ($) | MKT CAP ($MIL.) | SP PERF. SCORE | RTN ON CAPITAL 5Y-MEAN (%) | SALES CH. 3M (%) | 1Y DIV. GROWTH (%) | NOP CH. 24M | EPS GROWTH 5Y-MEAN | RTN ON CAPITAL (%) | DIV. YIELD (%) | 1Y PRICE RTN. (%) |
| HD-N | Home Depot, Inc. | 271.64 | 292160 | 90.0 | 30.4 | 1.7 | 25.4 | 20.3 | 15.3 | 35.5 | 2.2 | 29.4 |
| ORLY-Q | O’reilly Automotive, Inc. | 465.18 | 34470 | 77.7 | 26.7 | 4.9 | 0.0 | 24.5 | 19.9 | 29.2 | 0.0 | 21.9 |
| AZO-N | Autozone, Inc. | 1182.22 | 27620 | 76.5 | 26.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.6 | 13.0 | 28.8 | 0.0 | 8.6 |
| TSCO-Q | Tractor Supply Company | 148.1 | 17120 | 88.5 | 18.2 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 43.4 | 14.9 | 23.2 | 1.1 | 35.8 |
| LOW-N | Lowe’s Companies, Inc. | 152.78 | 115350 | 88.0 | 16.2 | 2.7 | 14.6 | 23.1 | 16.2 | 20.4 | 1.4 | 52.1 |
| COST-Q | Costco Wholesale Corporation | 340.91 | 150520 | 82.7 | 13.1 | 1.6 | 12.3 | 30.1 | 9.9 | 14.2 | 0.8 | 24.1 |
| DG-N | Dollar General Corporation | 195.29 | 49160 | 84.1 | 13.0 | 6.6 | 10.9 | 22.6 | 16.5 | 14.0 | 0.7 | 42.1 |
What we found
Home improvement retailer Home Depot has an impressive performance score of 90. The 5Y return on capital is also incredible at 30%. In the long run, we expect the company will manage to increase its sales around the GDP growth level while adding small amount of capital. The increase in free cash flow will allow to increase the dividend. The various restrictions related to the pandemic may have pushed consumer to renovate their house during their spare time. The company reports their Q2 on August 18th before market opening.
Auto parts & equipments retailer O’reilly Automotive has a robust return on capital of 26.7%. Its short-term sales grew by 4.9% despite the pandemic during Q2 showing strong execution by management while facing important demand by consumers. Individuals may have used their cars more for vacations as other options were limited. The company generated an impressive annual EPS growth of almost 20% in the last 5-year period. The company doesn’t pay a dividend, but it returned $1.1B to shareholders through buybacks.
Farm supply and home improvement retailer Tractor Supply Co. has a trailing twelve month return on capital of 23.1% which compares positively to its 5Y mean of 18.2%. It increased its sales by 9.7% in the last 3 months and realized a NOP growth of 43.4% over 24 months showing great momentum both in the short and medium-term. The dividend growth is lower than other firms figuring on the list, but the company chose to strengthen its balance sheet by adding $1.1B in cash and cash equivalents compared to the previous Q2. An understandable decision considering the circumstances.
Investors are advised to do further research before investing in any of the companies listed in the accompanying table.
