An allocation to FTSE 250 stocks within an ISA is a good idea, in my opinion, as the index is home to a number of companies that are growing quickly, and generating big gains for investors.
With that in mind, here’s a look at two growth stocks within the index that I like the look of right now.
JD Sports Fashion
The UK high street may be on life support, yet one retailer that still has considerable potential, in my view, is JD Sports Fashion (LSE: JD). I believe the £3.4bn market-cap is a great way to get exposure to some of the world’s largest sports brands such as Nike and Adidas, and also capitalise on the athleisure wear trend that has surged in popularity across the world in recent years.
In a January trading update, JD announced that it had maintained its positive performance from the first half of the year, and that it was pleased with the continuing momentum of its international business. The company also advised that pre-tax profit for the year will hit the £300m mark, up from previous estimates of £270m-£295m.
After a strong share price run between early 2015 and May 2017, they pulled back last year and, at the current price, I believe they offer value. With City analysts expecting earnings of 23.5p per share for the year ending 28 January 2019, the forward-looking P/E ratio of the stock is a very reasonable 13.7. JD Sports Fashion has considerable ISA potential, in my opinion.
Sanne Group
The next stock I’m profiling, Sanne Group (LSE: SNN), is less well known. But don’t let that put you off – the company has been a fantastic performer for investors over the last three years, and appears to have plenty of potential for further gains.
Sanne provides outsourced administration, reporting and fiduciary services to asset managers, financial institutions, family offices and corporates. This is perhaps not the most exciting business model in the world, yet the company is benefiting from strong demand for its services as a result of increased regulation requirements, cross-border investment and the growing expectation for independent oversight.
Through both acquisitions and organic growth, Sanne has enjoyed powerful growth since coming to the market in April 2015. And this morning’s full-year results for FY2017 look excellent.
Indeed, for the year ending 31 December, group revenue increased 77% to £113.2m, including organic growth of 14%, and underlying profit before tax surged 79% to £38.1m. Underlying diluted EPS climbed from 16.9p to 23.7p and the full-year dividend was hiked over 30% to 12.6p.
Chairman Rupert Robson was upbeat on the outlook for the company, commenting: “Looking forward we are building on our success as a high growth sustainable business whilst investing in our infrastructure. Against this background, the outlook for 2018 continues to look promising.”
Like many stocks across the market, Sanne shares have pulled back this year, falling from 800p in early January to 675p today. As such, with the forward P/E ratio having fallen to 26, I believe the shares are now worth a closer look.
