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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
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 to watch right now is Autoliv (ALV). ALV is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.66 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 20.61. Over the last 12 months, ALV’s Forward P/E has been as high as 12.22 and as low as 9, with a median of 10.09.
Investors should also note that ALV holds a PEG ratio of 0.71. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company’s expected earnings growth rate. ALV’s industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.59. Over the last 12 months, ALV’s PEG has been as high as 0.85 and as low as 0.33, with a median of 0.70.
We should also highlight that ALV has a P/B ratio of 3.32. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock’s market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. ALV’s current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry’s average P/B of 3.54. Over the past year, ALV’s P/B has been as high as 4.30 and as low as 3.12, with a median of 3.50.
Another great Automotive – Original Equipment stock you could consider is BorgWarner (BWA), which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.
BorgWarner is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 6.83 while its PEG ratio sits at 0.64. Both of the company’s metrics compare favorably to its industry’s average P/E of 20.61 and average PEG ratio of 1.59.
BWA’s price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 9.23 and as low as 6.58, with a median of 7.59, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.14 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 0.79, all within the past year.