The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.
Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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.
One company to watch right now is Carnival (CCL). CCL is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 13.73 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 20.03. Over the last 12 months, CCL's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.07 and as low as 8.45, with a median of 12.59.
Investors should also note that CCL holds a PEG ratio of 0.60. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. CCL's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.94. Over the past 52 weeks, CCL's PEG has been as high as 0.86 and as low as 0.37, with a median of 0.55.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CCL's P/B ratio of 3.42. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 5.21. Over the past 12 months, CCL's P/B has been as high as 3.55 and as low as 2.09, with a median of 2.86.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that CCL has a P/CF ratio of 7.73. 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. CCL's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 15.75. CCL's P/CF has been as high as 8.64 and as low as 4.49, with a median of 6.40, all within the past year.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Carnival is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CCL feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Carnival Corporation (CCL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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