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Are Investors Undervaluing GMS (GMS) Right Now?

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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.

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.

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 GMS (GMS - Free Report) . GMS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.70. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.87. GMS's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.53 and as low as 3.22, with a median of 8.98, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that GMS has a PEG ratio of 0.63. 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. GMS's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.82. GMS's PEG has been as high as 0.76 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 0.63, all within 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. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. GMS has a P/S ratio of 0.57. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.08.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GMS has a P/CF ratio of 13.04. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.41. Within the past 12 months, GMS's P/CF has been as high as 13.49 and as low as 2.27, with a median of 7.44.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in GMS'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 GMS is an impressive value stock right now.


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