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Is T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund (PRGFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund (PRGFX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRGFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRGFX. T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund debuted in April of 1950. Since then, PRGFX has accumulated assets of about $10.96 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joseph Fath, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2014.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.36%, and it sits in the bottom 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 5.05%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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, PRGFX's standard deviation comes in at 22.74%, compared to the category average of 15.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.12% compared to the category average of 16.5%. 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 1.09, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. PRGFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.86, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 88.92% in stocks and it has 8.99% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
With turnover at about 25.9%, this fund is making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, PRGFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRGFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund ( PRGFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PRGFXin 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. 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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Is T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund (PRGFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund (PRGFX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRGFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRGFX. T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund debuted in April of 1950. Since then, PRGFX has accumulated assets of about $10.96 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joseph Fath, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2014.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.36%, and it sits in the bottom 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 5.05%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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, PRGFX's standard deviation comes in at 22.74%, compared to the category average of 15.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.12% compared to the category average of 16.5%. 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 1.09, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. PRGFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.86, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 88.92% in stocks and it has 8.99% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
With turnover at about 25.9%, this fund is making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, PRGFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRGFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund ( PRGFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PRGFXin 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. 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.