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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.
Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
One stock to keep an eye on is Elekta (EKTAY). EKTAY is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 15.41, while its industry has an average P/E of 33.31. EKTAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 52.33 and as low as 14.43, with a median of 21.54, all within the past year.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is EKTAY's P/B ratio of 2.85. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. EKTAY's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.32. Over the past 12 months, EKTAY's P/B has been as high as 3.56 and as low as 2.59, with a median of 3.01.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. EKTAY has a P/S ratio of 1.62. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.23.
Finally, we should also recognize that EKTAY has a P/CF ratio of 11.52. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. EKTAY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 26.58. Over the past year, EKTAY's P/CF has been as high as 17.26 and as low as 10.78, with a median of 12.97.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Elekta's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that EKTAY is an impressive value stock right now.