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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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 Vipshop (VIPS). VIPS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.60. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.54. VIPS's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.28 and as low as 4.53, with a median of 5.85, all within the past year.
We also note that VIPS holds a PEG ratio of 1.46. 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. VIPS's industry has an average PEG of 3.52 right now. Within the past year, VIPS's PEG has been as high as 1.51 and as low as 1.14, with a median of 1.28.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. VIPS has a P/S ratio of 0.56. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.81.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that VIPS has a P/CF ratio of 6.69. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 21.19. Over the past 52 weeks, VIPS's P/CF has been as high as 7.23 and as low as 4.62, with a median of 5.65.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Vipshop is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, VIPS feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.