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Zacks.com highlights: Verso, Covenant Transportation Group, Darling Ingredients, Ingles Markets and Exelon

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 27, 2018 - Stocks in this week’s article include: Verso Corporation , Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. , Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR - Free Report) , Ingles Markets, Inc. (IMKTA - Free Report) and Exelon Corporation (EXC - Free Report) .

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

5 Stocks with Strikingly Low EV/EBITDA Ratios to Own Now

Investors typically have a fixation for the price-to-earnings (P/E) strategy in their quest for stocks that are trading at bargain prices. A widely favored approach by value investors is to chase stocks that have a low P/E ratio. But even this straightforward, broadly used valuation metric suffers a few downsides.

EV/EBITDA is a Better Approach, Here’s Why

While P/E is preferred by many investors while uncovering bargain stocks, another valuation metric called EV/EBITDA does a better job. The ratio is often viewed as a better option as it offers a clearer picture 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 a nutshell, it is the entire value of a company.

EBITDA, the other element, gives a true reflection of a company’s profitability as it removes 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 better it is. A low EV/EBITDA ratio could signal that a stock is potentially undervalued.

EV/EBITDA takes into account the debt on a company’s balance sheet which the P/E ratio does not. For 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 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. On the other hand, EV/EBITDA is difficult to manipulate and also can be used to value entities that have negative net earnings but are positive on the EBITDA front.

EV/EBITDA is also a useful tool 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 has its downsides too. It 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 outcome. But you can combine it with other major ratios such as price-to-book (P/B), P/E and price-to-sales (P/S) to screen value stocks.

And that's what we're screening for today…

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/296936/5-stocks-with-strikingly-low-evebitda-ratios-to-own-now

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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.

About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

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Exelon Corporation (EXC) - free report >>

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Ingles Markets, Incorporated (IMKTA) - free report >>