Buying growth stocks at the right price can be difficult because they usually trade on a higher price/earnings ratio than the market average.
I think the following three shares would be great for my portfolio (and maybe yours) at the current prices:
National Veterinary Care Ltd (ASX: NVL)
National Veterinary Care is a fast-growing vet business that is steadily adding more vet clinics to its network through acquisitions.
Pet owners are normally willing to spend money on their pet to improve their pet's health, no matter what part of the economic cycle we are in. This makes National Vet Care's earnings quite defensive.
I expect that National Vet Care could be one of the best small caps on the ASX over the next few years. It's currently trading at 24x FY17's estimated earnings and is expected to soon start paying a dividend.
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)
MFF Capital is a listed investment company (LIC) run by Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG). It has been one of the best performing LICs over the past five years and offers investors exposure to overseas-listed opportunities.
Most investors have little overseas exposure, including myself. I think this is the best LIC to get that exposure other than some of the famous index funds.
MFF is currently trading with a grossed-up dividend yield of 1.45%.
Altium is the creator of electronic PCB software which helps people design the products of the future.
The growth of the 'Internet of Things' industry should see Altium's earnings grow strongly over the coming years. Altium's management are predicting that revenue will double by 2020.
Altium is currently trading at 29x FY17's estimated earnings with an unfranked dividend yield of 2.59%.
Foolish takeaway
At the current prices, I think National Vet Care and MFF Capital would both be excellent long-term choices.
