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Is Verso Corporation (VRS) a Great Value Stock 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is Verso Corporation . VRS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 4.64 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 7.49. Over the last 12 months, VRS's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.13 and as low as -15.34, with a median of 7.59.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is VRS's P/B ratio of 1.06. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.03. Over the past 12 months, VRS's P/B has been as high as 1.55 and as low as 0.53, with a median of 0.98.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. VRS has a P/S ratio of 0.34. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.63.

Finally, we should also recognize that VRS has a P/CF ratio of 3.56. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. VRS's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 5.05. Over the past year, VRS's P/CF has been as high as 7.28 and as low as 1.61, with a median of 5.79.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Verso Corporation is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, VRS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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