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Should Value Investors Buy United States Steel (X) Stock?

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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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is United States Steel (X - Free Report) . X is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 2.92. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 4.34. X's Forward P/E has been as high as 79.88 and as low as -271.94, with a median of 3.91, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that X has a P/B ratio of 0.99. 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. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.61. Within the past 52 weeks, X's P/B has been as high as 1.65 and as low as 0.43, with a median of 1.14.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. X has a P/S ratio of 0.43. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.49.

Finally, our model also underscores that X has a P/CF ratio of 3.84. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.47. Over the past year, X's P/CF has been as high as 5.16 and as low as -27.55, with a median of -3.30.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in United States Steel'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 X is an impressive value stock right now.


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