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Is PGIM Jennison Mid-Cap Growth A (PEEAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is PGIM Jennison Mid-Cap Growth A (PEEAX - Free Report) . PEEAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PGIM is based in Providence, RI, and is the manager of PEEAX. Since PGIM Jennison Mid-Cap Growth A made its debut in December of 1996, PEEAX has garnered more than $1.13 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Sheetal Prasad, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2017.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 24.29%, 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. Over the past three years, PEEAX's standard deviation comes in at 21.41%, compared to the category average of 16.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.55% compared to the category average of 13.74%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.04, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.61. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 75.32% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $26.75 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Retail Trade
Turnover is 71%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PEEAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 1.17%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PEEAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, PGIM Jennison Mid-Cap Growth A ( PEEAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PEEAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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