The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 aren't far from their all-time highs, but not all stocks are in the same boat. There are some that aren't getting much love from investors and are trading for significantly less than their peaks. Here are two in particular that have large growth opportunities in the years ahead and are mainly beaten down due to temporary headwinds.
Smart moves and long-term tailwinds
The stock market isn't showing much faith in Redfin (RDFN 5.75%), and to be fair, it's easy to see why. With interest rates staying higher for much longer than expected, the real estate market remains slow, and Redfin is still losing money. Management previously called for generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) profitability in 2024 -- to put it mildly, that isn't likely to happen.
However, Redfin is making the best out of a bad situation by focusing on efficiency and building its adjacent services. While revenue only grew 5% year over year in the first quarter, Redfin's gross profit grew by 22%, and its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss was less than half of where it was a year ago. Redfin's mortgage and title businesses both continued to grow, and the new Redfin Next agent pay structure has shown promising results in a limited rollout so far.
In a nutshell, Redfin is doing a solid job of setting itself up for success when the market heats up. CEO Glenn Kelman said in the company's press release that "market conditions recently got worse, but Redfin got better in the first quarter of 2024."
It's also worth noting that the recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement could be a major net positive for Redfin. Essentially, it requires more transparency about buyer's agent commissions, and Redfin's are already among the lowest in the industry -- plus a tech-focused real estate platform is ideal for a world where many buyers choose to navigate the process with no agent at all.
A big opportunity in experiential real estate
EPR Properties (EPR 1.72%) is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, that specializes in experiential real estate. The company owns a portfolio of properties that include ski resorts, water parks, "eat and play" businesses (Topgolf is its second-largest tenant), and its largest property type, movie theaters.
We'll start with the bad. The fact that about 40% of EPR's rental income is from movie theaters is certainly a risk factor. On one hand, a major operator (Regal) just emerged from bankruptcy, and its leases were resolved in a manner that was quite favorable. But it has a large concentration of AMC Entertainment (AMC 2.36%) theaters, so that's a big question mark for the time being.
Having said that, EPR's business is performing quite well, and experiential real estate remains a large opportunity. EPR plans to reduce its theater exposure over time and pursue other types of experiential properties, and it sees a $100 billion investible universe of properties it could pursue. Growth may be slow for the time being due to the high interest rate environment, but as rates gradually come down, it should help EPR put its foot on the gas.
For the time being, EPR has a monthly dividend that translates to an 8.3% annualized yield at the current share price, and the company is earning more than enough to cover (and grow) its payout over time.
Don't let short-term headwinds distract you from the opportunities
To be clear, the issues that are preventing these two stocks from trading at a higher valuation are quite temporary in nature. In Redfin's case, high mortgage rates are keeping existing home sale activity slow, but the real estate market isn't likely to stay historically slow forever.
In EPR's case, the high interest rate environment makes it unappealing to raise capital or issue new shares to fund growth, plus the theater exposure should gradually lessen over time, and we'll eventually get more clarity on the future of the major operators.
The point is not to focus on temporary headwinds, but to focus on the long-term potential of these two businesses. If they can get through the uncertain and slow times and execute their growth strategies when things turn around, these could be massive winners for patient investors.
