While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.
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 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.
One company to watch right now is Eni (E). E is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.33, which compares to its industry's average of 11.76. Over the past 52 weeks, E's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.97 and as low as 6.79, with a median of 8.05.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is E's P/B ratio of 0.97. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.75. Over the past year, E's P/B has been as high as 1.00 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.85.
Finally, investors should note that E has a P/CF ratio of 4.96. 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. E's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 6.01. Over the past 52 weeks, E's P/CF has been as high as 5.13 and as low as 3.64, with a median of 4.30.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Eni is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, E feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Eni SpA (E): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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