Is CF Industries (CF) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 CF Industries (CF). CF is currently holding a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 14.35 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.00. Over the past 52 weeks, CF's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.16 and as low as 11.10, with a median of 14.37.

Finally, investors should note that CF has a P/CF ratio of 7.02. 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 16.39. Within the past 12 months, CF's P/CF has been as high as 8.02 and as low as 5.19, with a median of 7.15.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that CF Industries is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CF feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research