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.
Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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 Standard Motor Products (SMP). SMP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.64, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.85. SMP's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.50 and as low as 5.89, with a median of 8.90, all within the past year.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SMP's P/B ratio of 1.23. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. SMP's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.93. Over the past year, SMP's P/B has been as high as 1.28 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 1.04.
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 preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SMP has a P/S ratio of 0.48. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.09.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that SMP has a P/CF ratio of 11.11. 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. SMP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.46. SMP's P/CF has been as high as 11.69 and as low as 7.21, with a median of 10.29, all within the past year.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Standard Motor Products'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, SMP looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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Standard Motor Products, Inc. (SMP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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