Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Air Canada (ACDVF) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

Air Canada (ACDVF - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ACDVF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 4.81, which compares to its industry's average of 8.85. Over the past year, ACDVF's Forward P/E has been as high as 27.47 and as low as -5.39, with a median of 12.80.

ACDVF is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.20. 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. ACDVF's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.32. ACDVF's PEG has been as high as 0.21 and as low as 0.20, with a median of 0.20, all within 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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. ACDVF has a P/S ratio of 0.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.34.

Finally, investors should note that ACDVF has a P/CF ratio of 1.66. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.09. Over the past year, ACDVF's P/CF has been as high as 9.27 and as low as -133.81, with a median of 1.78.

Investors could also keep in mind SkyWest (SKYW - Free Report) , an Transportation - Airline stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Shares of SkyWest currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 10.01, and its PEG ratio is 0.89. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 8.85 and 0.32.

SKYW's Forward P/E has been as high as 11,210.77 and as low as -3,534.23, with a median of 15.75. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.84, as low as 0.79, with a median of 0.98.

SkyWest also has a P/B ratio of 0.82 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.32. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 0.88, as low as 0.31, with a median of 0.55.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Air Canada and SkyWest are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ACDVF and SKYW sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) - free report >>

Air Canada (ACDVF) - free report >>

Published in