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Is Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mid Cap Value fund category, Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FLPSX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Mid Cap Value funds is an area filled with options, like FLPSX. Targeting medium-sized companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion, Mid Cap Value mutual funds more often than not choose stocks that hold solid value and income investment opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FLPSX. Since Fidelity Low-Priced Stock made its debut in December of 1989, FLPSX has garnered more than $28.42 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FLPSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.89% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 13.24%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. FLPSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 20.51% compared to the category average of 19.79%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.42% compared to the category average of 16.16%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, so it is likely going to be as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. FLPSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.25, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FLPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 1.11%. So, FLPSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Low-Priced Stock ( FLPSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Low-Priced Stock ( FLPSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FLPSX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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