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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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 company value investors might notice is Encore Capital Group (ECPG). ECPG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 4.90, which compares to its industry's average of 9.15. ECPG's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.37 and as low as 4.14, with a median of 6.46, all within the past year.
Another notable valuation metric for ECPG is its P/B ratio of 1.02. 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 1.09. ECPG's P/B has been as high as 1.58 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.10, 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. ECPG has a P/S ratio of 0.69. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.37.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Encore Capital Group is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ECPG sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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Encore Capital Group Inc (ECPG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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