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Are Investors Undervaluing Continental (CTTAY) 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 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 stock to keep an eye on is Continental (CTTAY - Free Report) . CTTAY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.25, which compares to its industry's average of 19.84. Over the past 52 weeks, CTTAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.01 and as low as 6.94, with a median of 8.96.

Another notable valuation metric for CTTAY is its P/B ratio of 1.02. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.51. Over the past year, CTTAY's P/B has been as high as 1.14 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 0.97.

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. CTTAY has a P/S ratio of 0.38. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.85.

Driven Brands Holdings (DRVN - Free Report) may be another strong Automotive - Original Equipment stock to add to your shortlist. DRVN is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Driven Brands Holdings are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 11.93 and a PEG ratio of 0.98 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 19.84 and 1.04, respectively.

DRVN's Forward P/E has been as high as 24.14 and as low as 10.21, with a median of 19.40. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 3.55, as low as 0.94, with a median of 1.54.

Driven Brands Holdings sports a P/B ratio of 2.50 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.51. In the past 52 weeks, DRVN's P/B has been as high as 3.08, as low as 1.19, with a median of 2.58.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Continental and Driven Brands Holdings are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CTTAY and DRVN sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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