Large Cap Value fund seekers should consider taking a look at Fidelity Equity Dividend Income (FEQTX Quick QuoteFEQTX - Free Report) . FEQTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FEQTX is one of many Large Cap Value mutual funds to choose from. These funds invest in equities with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. This strategy can often produce low P/E ratios and high dividend yields; growth levels; however, growth levels are oftentimes cut back. These funds'high growth opportunities are slowed even more since large-cap stocks are usually in more stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects. Thus, investors interested in a stable income stream fund Large Cap Value funds very appealing.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FEQTX. Fidelity Equity Dividend Income made its debut in August of 1990, and since then, FEQTX has accumulated about $5.20 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. John Sheehy is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2017.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FEQTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.36% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.77%, 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, FEQTX's standard deviation comes in at 15.3%, compared to the category average of 15.26%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.1% compared to the category average of 16.62%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FEQTX has a 5-year beta of 0.77, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. FEQTX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.86, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FEQTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.55% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FEQTX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity Equity Dividend Income ( FEQTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Equity Dividend Income ( FEQTX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FEQTXin the Large Cap Value 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.