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Are Investors Undervaluing Office Depot (ODP) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

Office Depot (ODP - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ODP 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 8.90, which compares to its industry's average of 14.22. Over the past year, ODP's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.47 and as low as 4.42, with a median of 7.26.

Investors will also notice that ODP has a PEG ratio of 0.52. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ODP's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.07. Over the past 52 weeks, ODP's PEG has been as high as 1.17 and as low as 0.29, with a median of 0.52.

Finally, investors should note that ODP has a P/CF ratio of 6.38. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 20.88. Over the past year, ODP's P/CF has been as high as 6.55 and as low as 3.09, with a median of 4.66.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Office Depot's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that ODP is an impressive value stock right now.


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