The a2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price hit a record high of $16.09 in trade today and could have further to rise if analysts at Goldman Sachs and UBS are on the money in handing out 12-month share price targets even higher than today's.
I also made a2 Milk my top stock to buy in July when it changed hands for $13.86 and not for nothing either.
The stock looked good value back then given it continues to boast very strong growth rates with an outlook supported by its success in China, Australia and the US.
a2's core business is the sale of infant informula with it reporting 42% revenue growth for the nine months to March 31 2019 with a forecast for EBITDA margins to stay in the range of 31% to 32%. These are some impressive numbers given the business is reinvesting heavily in sales and marketing expenses to grow in large markets like China and the U.S.
a2 also has a strong balance sheet with no debt and NZ$288 million cash on hand, as such I expect management will one day in the future start to pay a dividend or potentially even buy back shares on issue.
Its return on equity is also high at 37.5% in FY 2019 and 35.2% in FY 2018. Generally when you can find assets this profitable and growing at strong rates shares are likely to get bid up higher over time in my opinion.
While most investor attention on a2 is understandably focused on the high-growth, but unpredictable China market, I also think over the longer term it has an excellent opportunity to grow sales of its supermarket milk in the US.
As at January 2019 it was being distributed via 12,000 stores including at leading chains such as Walmart, Safeway and Costco. If this business takes off I expect the market will once again be eager to bid the shares higher.
Overall for anyone looking to play the rising Chinese consumer theme I think a2 Milk is definitely the best stock to own.
However, of course investors must remember that as a highly-valued growth stock it has considerable downside risk if it doesn't deliver on investors' great expectations.
Others that might interest investors, but not myself, include Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB), Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) or wine retailer Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).
