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.
Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.
One stock to keep an eye on is MediaAlpha (MAX). MAX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 21. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 25.27. Over the last 12 months, MAX's Forward P/E has been as high as 37.04 and as low as 9.72, with a median of 14.57.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. MAX has a P/S ratio of 0.74. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.15.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in MediaAlpha's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, MAX looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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MediaAlpha, Inc. (MAX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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