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, 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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 Maximus (MMS). MMS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 12.58, which compares to its industry's average of 13.84. Over the last 12 months, MMS's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.12 and as low as 12.58, with a median of 15.04.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is MMS's P/B ratio of 2.39. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 2.69. Over the past 12 months, MMS's P/B has been as high as 3.17 and as low as 2.39, with a median of 2.95.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. MMS has a P/S ratio of 0.83. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.05.
Finally, our model also underscores that MMS has a P/CF ratio of 10.24. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.04. Over the past 52 weeks, MMS's P/CF has been as high as 17.05 and as low as 10.24, with a median of 13.83.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Maximus'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 MMS is an impressive value stock right now.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
