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.
Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
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 company to watch right now is GMS (GMS). GMS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.
We should also highlight that GMS has a P/B ratio of 2.96. 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 2.97. Over the past year, GMS's P/B has been as high as 2.97 and as low as 1.86, with a median of 2.32.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio 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. GMS has a P/S ratio of 0.76. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.86.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that GMS is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, GMS sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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
GMS Inc. (GMS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
