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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.
Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.
One company to watch right now is Barrick Gold (GOLD). GOLD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.21 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 13.21. Over the past 52 weeks, GOLD's Forward P/E has been as high as 22.29 and as low as 10.19, with a median of 14.28.
We also note that GOLD holds a PEG ratio of 0.31. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. GOLD's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.45. Over the last 12 months, GOLD's PEG has been as high as 1.56 and as low as 0.31, with a median of 0.98.
We should also highlight that GOLD has a P/B ratio of 1. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.71. Over the past 12 months, GOLD's P/B has been as high as 1.14 and as low as 0.77, with a median of 0.94.
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. GOLD has a P/S ratio of 2.61. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.99.
Finally, we should also recognize that GOLD has a P/CF ratio of 9.21. 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. GOLD's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.69. Over the past 52 weeks, GOLD's P/CF has been as high as 15.14 and as low as 7.45, with a median of 8.95.