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Is Big Lots (BIG) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Big Lots (BIG - Free Report) . BIG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.31, which compares to its industry's average of 20.11. Over the past 52 weeks, BIG's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.90 and as low as 7.82, with a median of 11.01.

We also note that BIG holds a PEG ratio of 0.86. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. BIG's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.88. Within the past year, BIG's PEG has been as high as 1.03 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.83.

Another notable valuation metric for BIG is its P/B ratio of 2.99. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. BIG's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 6.93. BIG's P/B has been as high as 4.82 and as low as 2.36, with a median of 3.54, over the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that BIG has a P/CF ratio of 7.50. 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. BIG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.82. Over the past year, BIG's P/CF has been as high as 9.72 and as low as 5.93, with a median of 7.64.

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


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