Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.
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 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 company value investors might notice is Gibraltar Industries (ROCK). ROCK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.64, which compares to its industry's average of 14.66. ROCK's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.73 and as low as 10.09, with a median of 13.81, all within the past year.
Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. ROCK has a P/S ratio of 1.21. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.53.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that ROCK has a P/CF ratio of 10.11. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. ROCK's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.35. Within the past 12 months, ROCK's P/CF has been as high as 17.42 and as low as 9.58, with a median of 14.83.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Gibraltar Industries'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 ROCK is an impressive value stock right now.
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Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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