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Zacks.com featured highlights: Kraton, Cosan, Synnex, Plains GP Holdings and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 1, 2017 - Stocks in this week’s article Kraton Corporation , Cosan Limited , Synnex Corporation (SNX - Free Report) , Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (PAGP - Free Report) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. .

Screen of the Week by Zacks Investment Research:

Pick These 5 Bargain Stocks with Enticing EV/EBITDA Ratios

Value investors generally tend to cling to the price-to-earnings (P/E) strategy while seeking stocks that are trading at bargain prices. P/E, without a shadow of a doubt, is the most popular multiple used by investors for evaluating the fair market value of a stock. But even this straightforward, broadly used valuation metric suffers a few downsides.

Why EV/EBITDA is a Better Alternative?

While P/E is hands down the most commonly used equity valuation ratio in the market, a relatively less-used metric called EV/EBITDA is often viewed as a better option as it offers a clearer image of a company’s valuation and earnings potential. Unlike P/E that solely considers a company’s equity portion, EV/EBITDA determines its total value.

EV/EBITDA is the enterprise value (EV) of a stock divided by its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). EV is the sum of a company’s market capitalization, its debt and preferred stock minus cash and cash equivalents. In essence, it is the full value of a company.

The other component of the multiple, EBITDA gives a clearer picture of a company’s profitability as it eliminates the impact of non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization that dilute net earnings. It is also often used as a proxy for cash flows.

Typically, the lower the EV/EBITDA ratio, the more enticing it is. A low EV/EBITDA ratio could imply that a stock is potentially undervalued and vice versa.

EV/EBITDA also takes into account the debt on a company’s balance sheet that P/E does not. Given this reason, EV/EBITDA is generally used to value potential acquisition targets as it shows the amount of debt the acquirer has to assume. Stocks with a low EV/EBITDA multiple could be seen as attractive takeover candidates.

Another major limitation of P/E is that it can’t be used to value a loss-making entity. A firm’s earnings are also subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. In contrast, EV/EBITDA is hard to manipulate and can also be used to value firms that have negative net earnings but are positive on the EBITDA front.

EV/EBITDA is also a useful yardstick in assessing the value of firms that are highly leveraged and have a high degree of depreciation. It also can be used to compare companies with different levels of debt.

But EV/EBITDA is also not without its shortcomings and alone cannot conclusively determine a stock’s inherent potential and future performance. The ratio varies across industries and is generally not appropriate while comparing stocks in different industries given their diverse capital spending requirements.

Thus, a strategy only based on EV/EBITDA might not fetch the desired results. But you can club it with other key ratios such as price-to-book (P/B), P/E and price-to-sales (P/S) to screen true value stocks.

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at:https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/280980/pick-these-5-bargain-stocks-with-enticing-evebitda-ratios

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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