Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
Universal Health Services (UHS) is a stock many investors are watching right now. UHS is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.01 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 13.27. Over the past 52 weeks, UHS's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.67 and as low as 8.03, with a median of 10.46.
Investors will also notice that UHS has a PEG ratio of 0.71. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. UHS's industry has an average PEG of 1.37 right now. UHS's PEG has been as high as 0.93 and as low as 0.48, with a median of 0.62, all within the past year.
Finally, we should also recognize that UHS has a P/CF ratio of 6.77. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.44. Within the past 12 months, UHS's P/CF has been as high as 10.90 and as low as 5.80, with a median of 7.34.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Universal Health Services'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 UHS is an impressive value stock right now.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
