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.
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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
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.
Dana (DAN) is a stock many investors are watching right now. DAN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.41 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 20.82. Over the past year, DAN’s Forward P/E has been as high as 13.55 and as low as 5.44, with a median of 9.22.
Investors will also notice that DAN has a PEG ratio of 0.44. 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. DAN’s PEG compares to its industry’s average PEG of 1.05. Over the last 12 months, DAN’s PEG has been as high as 0.87 and as low as 0.26, with a median of 0.34.
Another notable valuation metric for DAN is its P/B ratio of 1.47. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock’s market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. DAN’s current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry’s average P/B of 3.44. DAN’s P/B has been as high as 1.75 and as low as 0.72, with a median of 1.11, over the past year.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can’t really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. DAN has a P/S ratio of 0.19. This compares to its industry’s average P/S of 0.55.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Dana is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, DAN sticks out at as one of the market’s strongest value stocks.