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 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 value investors might notice is UFP Industries (UFPI). UFPI is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.63. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 30.35. UFPI's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.85 and as low as 13.54, with a median of 15.62, all within the past year.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is UFPI's P/B ratio of 1.76. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 3.50. Over the past 12 months, UFPI's P/B has been as high as 2.64 and as low as 1.76, with a median of 2.00.
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. UFPI has a P/S ratio of 0.97. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.2.
Finally, our model also underscores that UFPI has a P/CF ratio of 11.26. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.01. Within the past 12 months, UFPI's P/CF has been as high as 14.20 and as low as 10.98, with a median of 12.12.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that UFP Industries is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, UFPI feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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UFP Industries, Inc. (UFPI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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