QVP in March 2015

The first quarter of 2015 ended with KAM taking a small downturn for the month of March, along with the S&P 500 which it was slightly behind.

While KAM’s QVP slightly underperformed last month, more importantly, this strategy continues to out-perform over all long-term timeframes. Over the past three years the QVP outpaced the S&P 500 by 3.96%, by 4.00% over the past five years, and by 2.99% in total since QVP’s inception in January 2005.

For every $100,000 invested in KAM’s QVP strategy five years ago, KAM could have added $35,118.19 to your current net-worth over an investment in the S&P 500 (net of fees).

Now though we will take a closer look at QVP’s top performers throughout the month:

5. Accenture (ACN) +4.07%

Accenture had an excellent month in March, hitting a new 52-week high of $94.98 (which it has since surpassed as well) after announcing Q2 results which exceeded expectations. They also recently completed the acquisition of Agilex Technologies to further improve the company's cloud capabilities when it comes serving the federal government.

After said results, Accenture are now expecting to increase net revenue by an additional few percentage points for the third quarter. Figures quoted by the company are between $7.35 billion and $7.60 billion.

4. GAP (GPS) +4.16%

After sluggish performance for the apparel chain throughout the latter part of 2014, the company has kicked on this year under the direction of new CEO Art Peck. He’s targeted digital sales as a key area for improvement and further grove and has promised to keep things simple and consistent for the clothing store.

3. CVR Refining (CVRR) +6.58%

Following a steady decline in value from November last year to January this year, CVR Refining has seen steady growth since as the company’s price has recovered.

Following a positive month for the company, Moody’s has upgraded their Probability of Default Rating and Corporate Family Rating and praised the stable outlook of the company.

2. Kroger (KR) +7.74%

The Ohio-headquartered supermarket giant grew over 60% in 2014, the second best performer overall for QVP in the past year, and is still going strong heading into 2015.

The company has been making noises about catering to the customer amid the rise in demand for locally-sourced items, as well as organic and non-GMO produce. With an emphasis on ensuring customers keep coming back, and increasingly positive noises still coming from analysts, Kroger looks to keep momentum going further into 2015.

1. Foot Locker (FL) +12.16%

Reaching double-digit performance already in 2015, the shoe retailer is benefitting from an increase in consumer spending after a long period of underperformance.

Canaccord analysts have said the trend for casual athletic apparel should continue, stating: "the combination of its remodel programs, apparel initiatives, women's recapture, and European growth strategies will lend themselves to the company likely beating its newly issued 2020 targets ahead of schedule." The 2020 target is $10 billion in sales and an EBIT margin of 12.5 percent.