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 stock to keep an eye on is The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). IPG is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is IPG's P/B ratio of 2.43. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.59. Over the past year, IPG's P/B has been as high as 3.16 and as low as 2.33, with a median of 2.83.
Finally, investors should note that IPG has a P/CF ratio of 8.62. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.37. IPG's P/CF has been as high as 9.78 and as low as 7.48, with a median of 8.41, all within the past year.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that The Interpublic Group of Companies is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, IPG sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (IPG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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