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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.
One stock to keep an eye on is OraSure Technologies (OSUR). OSUR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. OSUR has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.59.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that OSUR has a P/CF ratio of 12.54. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 39.25. Within the past 12 months, OSUR's P/CF has been as high as 14.08 and as low as 6.11, with a median of 8.39.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in OraSure Technologies's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, OSUR looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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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.
