After falling 28% my favourite growth stock looks dirt cheap with a P/E of just 9.6!

Just a few weeks ago I celebrating my decision to load up on FTSE 100 growth stock JD Sports Fashion (LSE: JD) in January.

I snapped up shares in the trainer and sportswear retailer at a 20% discount, after the board issued a profit warning following a disappointing Christmas trading period.

I’d been waiting for this opportunity for donkey’s years. Every time I checked, the JD Sports share price seemed to be leading the pack, and I felt I was missing out. This was my long-awaited shot at glory.

Why has it fallen out of fashion?

The danger with buying shares on bad news is that there could be worse to follow. When a momentum stock hits the wall, there’s no guarantee it will pick up the pace again.

But after a few ups and downs, JD looked well set. By September, I was up almost 30% and going for gold. I expected further gains as the cost-of-living crisis eased and consumers had more money to spend.

JD Sports is expanding in the US via the recent acquisition of Hibbett, with 700 new stores planned in four years. Once the presidential election was out of the way, I anticipated more excitement stateside too.

I’m not celebrating today. The JD share price peaked at 159.7p on 17 September. Today, it’s down to 116.75p. That’s a peak-to-trough drop of 26.9%, wiping out all my early paper gains.

The shares are down 16.25% over 12 months and 49.13% over three years. JD is no longer leading the pack, but trailing it.

The group partners with major international brands, notably Adidas and Nike. Unfortunately, Nike has had a dismal run. Its stock hit a four-year low in the summer as sales slumped, and that dragged JD down too.

Is this former FTSE 100 darling still worth buying?

On 2 October, JD posted a 2% increase half-year profit to £405.6m, beating expectations in a “challenging and volatile market“. It didn’t help. Worse followed.

In her Budget on 30 October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves hiked employers’ national insurance contributions, slashed the thresholds at which they pay it, and lifted the minimum wage by an inflation-busting 6.7%.

This will hit JD hard from April as it’s the UK’s 19th biggest private sector employer with almost 80,000 staff, many on the minimum wage. Chairman Andrew Higginson, who also chairs the British Retail Consortium, went on the attack saying the increases were “too much to bear”.

But JD will have to bear it. And so will I. I’ve waited too long to buy this stock, and I’m not going to sell after one setback. The question is whether I buy more.

Today, JD looks good value trading at 9.64 times earnings. It looks even better value judging by a price-to-sales revenue ratio of just 0.6. That suggests I’d pay just 60p for each £1 of sales JD makes.

If I didn’t hold JD, I’d leap on this chance. But I have a pretty big stake so I’ll sit tight and wait for better days. I think they’ll come, given time.

The post After falling 28% my favourite growth stock looks dirt cheap with a P/E of just 9.6! appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

More reading

2 cheap FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 shares for growth AND dividends!

Best British value stocks to consider buying in November

Is JD Sports a value share – or value trap?

Down 13% in a month, is this FTSE 100 favourite in my buy zone?

After crashing 15% in a month my favourite growth share looks like a no-brainer buy for me

Harvey Jones has positions in JD Sports Fashion. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Nike. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.