Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Herman Miller, Inc. stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

P/E Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Herman has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.10, as you can see in the chart below:



This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 20.28. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Herman’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years.



Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified Business Services sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 23.22. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is highly undervalued right now, compared to its peers.



We should also point out that Herman has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 15.20, which is roughly in line with the current level. Hence the forward earnings estimates are already incorporated in the company’s current share price.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Herman has a P/S ratio of about 0.83. This is lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.08 right now. This is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.



Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Herman currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of ‘A’, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes MLHR a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Herman might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of ‘C’ and a Momentum score of ‘B’. This gives MLHR a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘B’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>).

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter and year has seen two upward estimate revision in the past sixty days compared to none downward.

As a result, the current quarter consensus estimate has moved up by 10% in the past two months, while the full year estimate moved down by 5.1%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Herman Miller, Inc. Price and Consensus

This bullish trend is why the stock boasts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and why we are expecting outperformance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Herman is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its good lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (Bottom 17% out of more than 250 industries), it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Business/Office Products industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:



So, value investors might want to wait for broader factors to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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