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4 Reasons to Invest in Cohen & Steers (CNS) Stock Right Now

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It seems to be a wise idea to add Cohen & Steers (CNS - Free Report) stock to your portfolio now, given its diverse products and investment strategies that are expected to support the top line. Moreover, the company's steady capital deployments reflect strong balance sheet position.

The stock has been witnessing upward estimate revisions off late, reflecting analysts’ optimism regarding its earnings growth potential. Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cohen & Steers’ 2019 earnings has been revised nearly 6.9% upward. Thus, the stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The company’s price performance also seems impressive. The stock has gained 45.1% in the past six months, outperforming the industry’s growth of 16.8%.




Mentioned below are some other aspects that make Cohen & Steers a solid pick right now.

Revenue Strength: Driven by improving assets under management (AUM) balance, the company’s revenues increased at a CAGR of 2.1% over the last five years (2014-2018). In fact, the top line is expected to continue to grow in the near term as can be seen from its projected sales growth rates of 7.8% for 2019 and 11.7% for 2020.

Earnings Growth: Cohen & Steers witnessed earnings growth of 9.2% in the last three-five years, higher than the industry average of 2.7%. This earnings momentum is likely to continue in the near term as reflected by its projected earnings per share (EPS) growth rate of 3.8% for 2019 and 11.7% for 2020.

Further, the company’s long-term (three to five years) estimated EPS growth rate of 6.8% promises rewards for investors in the long run.

Strong Leverage: Cohen & Steers’ debt/equity ratio of 0.22 is below the industry’s current debt/equity ratio of 0.44. This shows that the company will be financially stable, even in adverse economic conditions.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE): Cohen & Steers’ ROE of 41.39% compares favorably with the industry’s average of 13.40%. This highlights the company’s commendable position over its peers in using shareholders’ funds.

Other Key Picks

A few other top-ranked stocks in the finance space are Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH - Free Report) , Cadence Bancorporation (CADE - Free Report) and M&T Bank Corporation (MTB - Free Report) . Each of these stocks currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, Hilltop Holdings witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 7.8% for the current year. Its share price has increased 13.7% in the past six months.

Cadence Bancorporation’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in 2019 has been revised 8.8% upward over the past 60 days. Its shares have gained nearly 17.1% in the past six months.

Over the past 60 days, M&T Bank witnessed a marginal upward earnings estimate revision for the current year. Its share price has rallied 17.7% in the past six months.

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