A portfolio that just keeps going

‘STILL going.” That was the punchline in the Energizer battery commercials, featuring the Energizer Bunny, which kept going long after you would have expected it to stop.

It’s also the idea behind my Bunny Portfolio. This hypothetical portfolio contains companies that have averaged 25 percent profit growth in the past five years, yet have stocks selling for 12 times earnings or less.

The Bunny Portfolio contains 10 stocks, chosen by formula — the five with the fastest-growing profits and the five with the lowest ratio of stock price to per-share earnings.

I compiled my first Bunny Portfolio in 1999, and have done one almost every year since. The average 12-month gain on the Bunny stocks has been 14.99 percent, compared with 9.83 percent for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index.

Here are the 10 new selections from the Bunny paradigm.

Academy Sports

Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (ASO), based in Katy, Texas, sells hunting, fishing and sports equipment. Earnings have grown fast in five years but dipped in the past year.

Albemarle

The world’s largest lithium producer, Albemarle has mines in the U.S., Chile and Australia. The firm posted a profit in 14 of the past 15 years.

Albertsons

The second-largest grocery-store chain in the U.S. with more than 2,200 stores in 34 states, Albertsons Co. Inc. (ACI) is based in Boise, Idaho. Kroger Co. (KR) plans to acquire Albertsons, but the plan isn’t certain to be approved by regulators, so the stock trades well below the takeover price.

Asbury Automotive

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (ABG) is an aggregation of car dealerships. Based in Duluth, Georgia, it operates in 14 states.

Boise Cascade

Also based in Boise, Idaho, is Boise Cascade Co. (BCC), which supplies engineered wood products, lumber and wood panels. It has an eleven-year profit streak going.

Brightsphere

Brightsphere Investment Group Inc. (GSIB), based in Boston, describes itself as a “multi-boutique asset management company.”

Cal-maine

Cal-maine Foods Inc. (CALM), from Ridgeland, Mississippi, is the largest U.S. egg producer. The egg business is volatile. In good times, the stock offers a high dividend yield, currently 8.3 percent.

Capstar Financial

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Capstar Financial Holdings Inc. owns Capstar Bank, which serves Nashville and smaller cities in Tennessee. Earnings fell in the past few quarters.

Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy Partners LP (CQP), in Houston, operates liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals. I am worried by its long-term debt.

Consumer Portfolio

Boasting a 79 percent earnings growth rate but selling for only five times earnings is Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. (CPSS). Based in Las Vegas, it specializes in car loans to consumers with credit problems. Warning: Debt here is high.

Crocs

Crocs Inc. (CROX) stock was a hot item when it went public in 2006. Today, despite a 31.7 percent earnings growth rate in five years, the stock is unpopular, selling for less than 10 times earnings.

John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments in Boston. His firm of clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.