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.
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 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 Nordstrom (JWN). JWN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.78 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.46. Over the last 12 months, JWN's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.36 and as low as 10.70, with a median of 11.98.
Another notable valuation metric for JWN is its P/B ratio of 3.56. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. JWN's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 5.39. JWN's P/B has been as high as 4.65 and as low as 3.35, with a median of 3.88, over the past year.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. JWN has a P/S ratio of 0.27. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.39.
Finally, we should also recognize that JWN has a P/CF ratio of 3.66. 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. JWN's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.35. JWN's P/CF has been as high as 3.69 and as low as 2.92, with a median of 3.36, all within the past year.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Nordstrom'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 JWN is an impressive value stock right now.
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Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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