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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.
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 stock to keep an eye on is AdvanSix (ASIX). ASIX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.95 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 24. ASIX's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.05 and as low as 6.08, with a median of 9.41, all within the past year.
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. ASIX has a P/S ratio of 0.57. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.66.
Finally, investors should note that ASIX has a P/CF ratio of 10.03. 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. ASIX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 24.65. Over the past 52 weeks, ASIX's P/CF has been as high as 10.29 and as low as 3.95, with a median of 6.92.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in AdvanSix'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 ASIX is an impressive value stock right now.
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AdvanSix (ASIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report