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Is T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Large Cap Growth fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRUFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRUFX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRUFX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I made its debut in September of 2015, PRUFX has garnered more than $14.04 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by James Stillwagon who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2025.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.25%, 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 23.12%, 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. PRUFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.61% compared to the category average of 11.9%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.81% compared to the category average of 14.04%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. PRUFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.27, demonstrating that 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, PRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.52% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $500,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. 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 I ( PRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PRUFX to its peers 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.
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Is T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Large Cap Growth fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRUFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRUFX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRUFX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I made its debut in September of 2015, PRUFX has garnered more than $14.04 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by James Stillwagon who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2025.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.25%, 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 23.12%, 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. PRUFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.61% compared to the category average of 11.9%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.81% compared to the category average of 14.04%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. PRUFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.27, demonstrating that 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, PRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.52% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $500,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. 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 I ( PRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PRUFX to its peers 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.