Investing in growth stocks is the best way for you to grow your investment portfolio to better prepare for retirement.
Luckily, there are a plethora of growth stocks for the picking in the US stock markets.
A useful way to screen for potential stock ideas is to scan the list of stocks hitting their 52-week highs.
This method allows you to filter out a handful of stocks that you can dive deeper into.
We highlight five such stocks that you may find attractive enough to include in your buy watchlist.
BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT)
BWX Technologies is an engineering company that provides solutions for global security, clean energy, nuclear medicine, and space exploration.
The company has 14 operating sites in the US, Canada, and the UK and employs around 7,800 staff.
The share price of BWX Technologies recently scaled its 52-week high of US$118.09 and is up 53% year-to-date.
For the first half of 2024 (1H 2024), the company saw revenue rise 8.9% year on year to US$1.3 billion.
Operating profit increased by 9.9% year on year to S$191.8 million.
Net profit climbed 18.2% year on year to US$141.4 million.
The business also generated a positive free cash flow of US$38.1 million, reversing the negative free cash flow of US$2 million.
BWX raised the low end of its 2024 guidance for earnings per share from US$3.05 to US$3.10.
It also expects revenue to come in higher than US$2.6 billion for the year, up mid-single-digits year on year.
The company was recently awarded a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration to develop a pilot plant solution for national security purposes.
Comfort Systems (NYSE: FIX)
Comfort Systems is a leading provider of commercial, industrial, and institutional heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and electrical contracting services.
The share price of the company doubled year-to-date and recently hit a 52-week high of US$412.48.
Comfort Systems reported a stellar set of earnings for 1H 2024 with revenue jumping 35.5% year on year to US$3.3 billion.
Operating profit soared 96.4% year on year to US$320.1 million while net profit surged 81.8% year on year to US$230.3 million.
The business generated a positive free cash flow of US$289.9 million, higher than the US$213.3 million churned out in the prior year.
Comfort Systems has generated positive free cash flow for an impressive 25 consecutive years.
The board declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.30 per share and the company has increased its dividend over 12 straight years.
Corpay (NYSE: CPAY)
Corpay is a corporate payments company with a suite of modern payment solutions that help businesses and consumers to pay expenses in a simple, controlled method.
The business boasts around 800,000 business clients and more than nine million consumer clients and is present in more than 150 countries worldwide.
Corpay’s share price recently touched its 52-week high of US$339.93 and is up close to 20% year-to-date.
Revenue for 1H 2024 inched up 3% year on year to US$1.9 billion with operating profit rising by 5% year on year to US$830.7 million.
Net profit increased by 6% year on year to US$481.4 million.
Corpay also generated a positive free cash flow of US$805.8 million for 1H 2024, 21% lower than the US$1 billion generated a year ago.
The company’s mid-term objectives are to grow revenue organically by 10% per year with net profit growing at between 15% to 20% per year.
Management believes it can achieve this because of the large total addressable market for Corpay’s services along with high revenue retention.
Earlier this month, the company’s cross-border business entered into a strategic partnership with AbbeyCross to provide foreign exchange payment services to emerging markets.
Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW)
Curtiss-Wright provides engineered products, solutions, and services to the aerospace and defence markets and also supplies critical technologies to the commercial power, process, and industrial sectors.
The company’s share price is up 52% year-to-date and recently hit its 52-week high of US$342.23.
Curtiss-Wright announced a strong set of earnings for 1H 2024 as revenue rose 12.2% year on year to US$1.5 billion.
Operating profit climbed 19.6% year on year to US$228.9 million while net profit jumped 27.7% year on year to US$176 million.
The company generated a positive free cash flow of US$42.6 million for 1H 2024.
A quarterly dividend of US$0.21 was declared, and dividends have risen without fail since 2011.
Curtiss-Wright recently announced the acquisition of Ultra Nuclear and Weed Instrument Co, a leading designer and manufacturer of neutron and radiation monitoring systems.
This is a bolt-on acquisition that is aligned with the company’s acquisition metrics and will expand its presence with the leading global designers of advanced nuclear reactors.
During its recent Investor Day, management introduced a set of new three-year targets.
Organic growth is targeted to grow by 5% per year with earnings per share increasing at more than 10% per annum.
Leidos (NYSE: LDOS)
Leidos is an innovation company that addresses challenges in national security and health.
Its share price has surged 54% year-to-date and hit its 52-week high of US$168.02 recently.
The company reported a sparkling set of earnings for 1H 2024.
Revenue rose 7.6% year on year to US$8.1 billion.
Operating profit leapt 49.3% year on year to US$890 million while net profit shot up 64.2% year on year to US$606 million.
The business also generated a positive free cash flow of US$397 million, a reversal from the negative free cash flow of US$13 million in 1H 2023.
A quarterly dividend of US$0.38 was declared and paid, up from the US$0.36 paid out a year ago.
Management has raised its guidance for the second consecutive quarter, estimating that revenue can hit between US$16.1 billion to US$16.4 billion for 2024.
This revision is based on a positive outlook on business development along with solid operational execution across Leidos’ entire portfolio.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
