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Washington Prime: Should Value Investors Consider WPG Stock?

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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 Washington Prime Group 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:

PE 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, Washington Prime has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 4.40, 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 20.06. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Washington Prime’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past few years.



Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified REIT-Equity Trust-Retail industry trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 15.20. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.



We should also point out that Washington Prime has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 4.70, so it is fair to expect a slight increase in the company’s share price in the near future.

P/CF Ratio

An often overlooked ratio that can still be a great indicator of value is the price/cash flow metric. This ratio doesn’t take amortization and depreciation into account, so can give a more accurate picture of the financial health in a business. This is a preferred metric to some valuation investors because cash flows are (a) generally less prone to manipulation by the company’s management and (b) are less affected by variation in accounting policies between different companies.

The ratio is generally applied to find out whether a company’s stock is overpriced or underpriced with reference to its cash flows generation potential compared with its competitors. However, it is not commonly used for cross-industry comparison, as the average price to cash flow ratio varies from industry to industry.

In this case, Washington Prime’s P/CF ratio of 4.99 is far lower than the Zacks classified REIT-Equity Trust-Retail industry average of 16.52, which indicates that the stock is undervalued in this respect.



Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Washington Prime 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 Washington Prime a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, its Price to Sales (P/S) ratio comes in at 1.84, which is far better than the industry average of 6.90. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Clearly, WPG is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Washington Prime 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 ‘C’. This gives WPG a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘A’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimate has been mixed at best. The current quarter has seen no upward and two downward estimate revision in the past sixty days, while the full year has seen two upward and no downward estimate revision in the same time frame.

As a result, the current quarter consensus estimate has moved down by 2.4% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has inched higher by 1.2%.You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

This somewhat mixed trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Washington Prime is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, the stock belongs to an industry which is ranked among the bottom 26% (out of more than 250 industries), indicating that broader factors are unfavorable for the company. In fact, over the past one year, the Zacks REIT-Equity Trust-Retail 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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