We recently compiled a list of the 8 Best Cheap Growth Stocks To Invest In Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) stands against the other cheap growth stocks.
What Should Your Portfolio Look Like in the Current Bull Market
The current market data shows that the economy of the United States is normalizing, especially with an active Federal Reserve, global stimulus from China, and higher consumption rates. In one of our recent articles, 7 Best Low Cost Stocks To Buy Under $50, we talked about the areas that could potentially benefit the most in the current bull market. We also discussed points of view from different analysts. Here is a piece from the article:
“The Fed rate cut and the Chinese stimulus are expected to affect the market positively. Adam Parker, Trivariate Research founder and CEO; Lauren Goodwin, New York Life Investments chief market strategist; and Kristina Hooper, Invesco chief global market strategist joined CNBC recently to talk about the best opportunities in the current bull market.
Adam Parker expressed that the market is outpacing the Federal Reserve’s action. He highlighted a sense of optimism surrounding AI deployment over the next few years, but he also raised concerns about market valuations exceeding economic realities. Parker likes the healthcare sector as it is driven by AI and believes that this will put the industry in a leading market position. He also believes that the Chinese Stimulus is a positive sign for the energy and industrial sectors.
On the other hand, Lauren Goodwin talked about how the rate cuts are supposed to affect the market. She thinks growth is the key indicator while analyzing the market. When the Fed is cutting rates, profit, and earnings margins typically stay where they are until growth starts to slow down. Moreover, she also pointed out that it is difficult to see the real economic catalyst that gives growth an upstart, without inflation. She also thinks that the upcoming period is going to be volatile between growth kicking up and then slowing down. Goodwin mentioned that she is going to be the buyer of the rally until unemployment starts rising and growth becomes a problem.”
Gabriela Santos, JPMorgan Asset Management’s chief market strategist, joined CNBC recently to talk about how investors’ portfolios might not be adequately adjusted to align with the current economic normalization, particularly in fixed-income allocations.
Santos emphasized that a proactive Federal Reserve, ongoing U.S. economic expansion, and stimulus from China create a favorable environment for risk assets to perform well. Santos highlighted that portfolios typically hold only about 36% in core fixed income, while she believes a more appropriate range is 65% to 75%. She suggested reallocating cash into credit rather than equities, focusing on investment-grade bonds and securitized debt.
Moreover, she thinks that within equity as well portfolios are overly emphasized on growth and technology stocks, whereas there lies significant potential outside of these industries. Gabriela Santos also pointed out that consumer spending remains robust, tracking around 3% to 3.5%. This resilience supports the notion of a “soft landing” for the economy. She also noted that it is a good sign that the market is less concerned about inflation, and instead, the focus is now more on consumer spending data, which has been tracking around 3% to 3.5% during the current quarter.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of 8 best cheap growth stocks to invest in now, we used our previous articles and Finviz screener. Using these two sources we shortlisted 20 growth stocks from industries including Technology, Biotech, Healthcare, and Renewable energies among others. We made sure that we only selected stocks that were trading below the forward price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98 (the market’s forward P/E as per the Wall Street Journal) with earnings expected to grow during the year. Next, we ranked these stocks based on the number of hedge fund holders in Q2 2024. The list is ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A line of cable boxes and modern televisions, representing the company’s video services.
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)
Forward P/E Ratio: 9.63
Earnings Growth This Year: 12.70%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is one of the biggest cable companies in the United States. It provides Internet, cable television, mobile, and voice services. The company also caters to businesses of all sizes to provide them with spectrum solutions.
It posted better-than-expected results in Q2 2024, despite losing significant broadband customers. Both residential and business customers fell by 149,000. The fall in customers was due to the end of FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program subsidies. However, despite the decline in subscribers, total revenue grew 0.2% year-over-year to $13.7 billion. Revenue was ahead of consensus of $13.6 billion.
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) took advantage of its advertisement revenue which improved 3.3% year-over-year which was driven by higher political revenue. Moreover, the company also demonstrated significant cash-generation capabilities. Its free cash flow increased 94% when compared to the last year.
The stock is undervalued at current levels, making it one of the best cheap growth stocks to invest in now. It is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10, its earnings are expected to grow by 12.70% this year.
Parnassus Value Equity Fund stated the following regarding Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we added new positions in Pfizer, NICE and Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR). NICE is a leading cloud contact center software company. Charter’s stock had fallen due to near-term concerns, which we believe will not have a major impact on the long-term value of the business. Charter Communications has had several issues that created short-term uncertainty. We assessed that these issues have limited impacts on the long-term value of the business and initiated a position to take advantage of the stock’s historically low valuation.”
Overall CHTR ranks 5th on our list of the cheap growth stocks to invest in. While we acknowledge the potential of CHTR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a promising AI stock that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.