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Is T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Large Cap Blend fund category, then a potential option is T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX - Free Report) . PRDGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRDGX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRDGX. The T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund made its debut in December of 1992 and PRDGX has managed to accumulate roughly $12.28 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Thomas J. Huber who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2000.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PRDGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.3% and it sits in the bottom 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 7.81%, which places it in the middle 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, PRDGX's standard deviation comes in at 15.36%, compared to the category average of 0%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.99% compared to the category average of 36%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.86, which means it is hypothetically less 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. PRDGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.82, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PRDGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 68%. So, PRDGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; 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, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund ( PRDGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Large Cap Blend area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRDGX too 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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Is T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Large Cap Blend fund category, then a potential option is T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund (PRDGX - Free Report) . PRDGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRDGX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRDGX. The T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund made its debut in December of 1992 and PRDGX has managed to accumulate roughly $12.28 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Thomas J. Huber who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2000.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PRDGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.3% and it sits in the bottom 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 7.81%, which places it in the middle 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, PRDGX's standard deviation comes in at 15.36%, compared to the category average of 0%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.99% compared to the category average of 36%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.86, which means it is hypothetically less 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. PRDGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.82, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PRDGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 68%. So, PRDGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; 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, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth Fund ( PRDGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Large Cap Blend area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRDGX too 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.