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Is Veritiv (VRTV) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Veritiv . VRTV is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 6.16, which compares to its industry's average of 8.78. Over the last 12 months, VRTV's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.03 and as low as 4.69, with a median of 6.76.

We also note that VRTV holds a PEG ratio of 0.40. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. VRTV's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.05. Over the past 52 weeks, VRTV's PEG has been as high as 0.58 and as low as 0.30, with a median of 0.44.

We should also highlight that VRTV has a P/B ratio of 1.93. 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 2.13. Over the past year, VRTV's P/B has been as high as 3.05 and as low as 1.72, with a median of 2.30.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. VRTV has a P/S ratio of 0.24. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.34.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Veritiv's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, VRTV looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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