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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.
Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.
One company to watch right now is Elekta (EKTAY). EKTAY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 15.16, while its industry has an average P/E of 33.37. Over the past year, EKTAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 25.06 and as low as 13.99, with a median of 16.36.
Investors should also recognize that EKTAY has a P/B ratio of 2.43. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 4.37. Over the past year, EKTAY's P/B has been as high as 3.47 and as low as 2.21, with a median of 2.80.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. EKTAY has a P/S ratio of 1.47. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.88.
Finally, investors should note that EKTAY has a P/CF ratio of 11.55. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. EKTAY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 26.20. Over the past 52 weeks, EKTAY's P/CF has been as high as 14.22 and as low as 10.15, with a median of 12.07.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Elekta is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, EKTAY sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.