The bargain growth collection below is premised on strategies used by Peter Lynch, the renowned ex-manager of Fidelity Magellan.
Lynch did not participate in our search process, but we based our screen on one of Lynch's favorite measures, the price/earnings-to-growth, or PEG, ratio: a company's P/E ratio divided by the rate at which its per-share earnings are projected to grow over the next three to five years.
We used it to hunt for what Lynch calls "stalwarts," blue chips whose shares could gain 30% to 50% over the next couple of years if they can be purchased at the right price.
Last year's bargain growth portfolio slightly outpaced the market, rising 23%.
Company (Ticker symbol) |
Current price |
52-wk high |
52-wk low |
Market Cap (mill) |
P/E |
PEG Ratio |
Earnings growth |
Debt/Equity Ratio |
| 3M (MMM) |
$76.63 |
$97.00 |
$72.05 |
$53,969.59 |
18.5 |
1.6 |
11% |
0.18 |
| AIG (AIG) |
$40.50 |
$72.97 |
$38.50 |
$101,080.35 |
11.4 |
1.0 |
11% |
0.2 |
| Accenture (ACN) |
$37.74 |
$44.03 |
$31.91 |
$29,420.93 |
21.7 |
1.4 |
14% |
0 |
| Chubb (CB) |
$52.90 |
$55.99 |
$45.65 |
$19,334.95 |
9.5 |
1.0 |
10% |
0.24 |
| ConocoPhillips (COP) |
$88.99 |
$90.84 |
$67.85 |
$137,262.36 |
8.4 |
1.2 |
8% |
0.28 |
| McKesson (MCK) |
$57.26 |
$68.43 |
$51.08 |
$15,877.00 |
20.9 |
1.4 |
14% |
0.29 |
| Microsoft (MSFT) |
$29.40 |
$37.50 |
$26.87 |
$273,810.81 |
21.3 |
1.6 |
13% |
0 |
| United Health (UNH) |
$33.10 |
$59.46 |
$32.32 |
$40,670.10 |
17.7 |
1.0 |
15% |
0.26 |
Current price, 52-week high/low and market cap as of May 09 16:00
P/E based on earnings for the last 12 months.
Earnings growth based on analyst projections for the next five years, according to Baseline. |