Is Ahold (ADRNY) a Solid Growth Stock? 3 Reasons to Think "Yes"

Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a great growth stock is not easy at all.That's because, these stocks usually carry above-average risk and volatility. In fact, betting on a stock for which the growth story is actually over or nearing its end could lead to significant loss.However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.Ahold NV (ADRNY) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this company is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:Earnings GrowthEarnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.While the historical EPS growth rate for Ahold is 2.7%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 7.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 5.1%.Impressive Asset Utilization RatioAsset utilization ratio -- also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio -- is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric shows how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.Right now, Ahold has an S/TA ratio of 1.8, which means that the company gets $1.8 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 1.19, it can be said that the company is more efficient.While the level of efficiency in generating sales matters a lot, so does the sales growth of a company. And Ahold is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 5.3% this year versus the industry average of 0%.Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsSuperiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.There have been upward revisions in current-year earnings estimates for Ahold. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 1% over the past month.Bottom LineAhold has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #1 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.This combination indicates that Ahold is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors.Don’t Miss Out on These Stocks Before you make your next investing move, we have a free report that highlights the %%CTA_TEXT%% to buy.Our experts at Zacks Investment Research hand-selected these stocks for their eye-opening growth projections.Since 1988, our stock picks have more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +23.89% per year using the Zacks Rank stock-rating system.Register now to see the %%CTA_TEXT%%.7 best stocksWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ahold NV (ADRNY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks