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Should Value Investors Buy Air Lease (AL) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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.

One company value investors might notice is Air Lease (AL - Free Report) . AL is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 6.92 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.34. AL's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.56 and as low as 6.38, with a median of 7.64, all within the past year.

AL is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.53. 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. AL's industry has an average PEG of 1.15 right now. Within the past year, AL's PEG has been as high as 0.97 and as low as 0.31, with a median of 0.67.

We should also highlight that AL has a P/B ratio of 0.75. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. AL's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.67. Over the past 12 months, AL's P/B has been as high as 0.80 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.65.

Finally, our model also underscores that AL has a P/CF ratio of 2.96. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. AL's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.39. AL's P/CF has been as high as 3.16 and as low as 2.20, with a median of 2.69, all within the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Air Lease is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, AL feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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