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Should Value Investors Buy Photronics (PLAB) Stock?

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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.

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.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Photronics (PLAB - Free Report) . PLAB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 19.42, while its industry has an average P/E of 19.97. Over the last 12 months, PLAB's Forward P/E has been as high as 51.98 and as low as 11.98, with a median of 18.12.

Investors will also notice that PLAB has a PEG ratio of 1.94. 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. PLAB's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2. Over the past 52 weeks, PLAB's PEG has been as high as 5.20 and as low as 1.20, with a median of 1.81.

Investors should also recognize that PLAB has a P/B ratio of 0.73. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PLAB's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 0.75. Over the past year, PLAB's P/B has been as high as 0.83 and as low as 0.56, with a median of 0.68.

Finally, our model also underscores that PLAB has a P/CF ratio of 5.93. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 6.46. Over the past 52 weeks, PLAB's P/CF has been as high as 7.26 and as low as 4.92, with a median of 5.83.

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


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