It’s tough to find growth stocks selling at a reasonable valuation, but searching for companies whose bottom lines are still expanding but not too richly priced could give investors a leg up entering the second half of the year. With the S & P 500 ahead 15% in the first half alone, and the S & P and Nasdaq Composite both near all-time highs, now might be the time for investors to adjust their portfolios accordingly. With that in mind, one time-tested strategy to consider is screening for stocks that offer growth at a reasonable price (GARP), combining tenets from both value and growth investing. CNBC Pro recently screened for stocks in the S & P 500 that fit the GARP approach. Companies had to meet the following criteria to be included: Have 12-month earnings per share growth of 15% or more Sport 12-month revenue growth of 15% or more Trade at a discount, measured by a forward price-to-earnings ratio below the S & P 500’s 22.6 multiple One name that turned up was Royal Caribbean Group . Shares of the cruise operator have rallied 24% this year. Earlier this week, Citigroup added RCL to its focus list , while JPMorgan reiterated an overweight rating on the cruise ship operator. “Based on our recent fieldwork and management access — we see RCL as best positioned for accelerating market share gains and continued beat/raise opportunity given its improved & differentiated product/destination offering,” JPMorgan wrote. First Solar , a maker of photovoltaic solar panels that’s soared 45% this year, also turned up as a GARP candidate. Investment banks from Oppenheimer to Baird , and Morgan Stanley to Goldman Sachs all reiterated their buy ratings on the stock earlier in June. “Within our clean tech coverage, FSLR is the biggest beneficiary of recent trade policy changes on clean energy imports,” Morgan Stanley wrote. Baird said that First Solar could be an unexpected beneficiary of the artificial intelligence trade. “FSLR is a backdoor way to play the rise in AI/data centers as hyperscalers seek power away from the grid, and we expect shares to continue recent strength,” the Milwaukee-based firm wrote. With a year-to-date rally of 11%, electric company Emerson Electric was also on the list of GARP stocks. On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call on the maker of automation equipment and hardware ahead of its earnings report later this summer. “EMR stock has underperformed the group since the end of last earnings season and we take this as evidence that investor expectations are not overly optimistic going into EMR’s 3Q results (investor interest has also been relatively low in recent weeks),” Deutsche Bank analyst Nicole DeBlase wrote. “We think the company can deliver a material 3Q24 beat.” — CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
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