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Should Value Investors Buy L Brands (LB) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

L Brands is a stock many investors are watching right now. LB is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.23, while its industry has an average P/E of 15.03. Over the last 12 months, LB's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.91 and as low as 9.84, with a median of 12.45.

We also note that LB holds a PEG ratio of 1.06. 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. LB's industry has an average PEG of 1.31 right now. Over the last 12 months, LB's PEG has been as high as 1.73 and as low as 0.86, with a median of 1.08.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that LB has a P/CF ratio of 6.08. 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 8.12. Within the past 12 months, LB's P/CF has been as high as 12.22 and as low as 5.07, with a median of 7.06.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in L Brands'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 LB is an impressive value stock right now.

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