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Are Investors Undervaluing Celanese (CE) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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.

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 company value investors might notice is Celanese (CE - Free Report) . CE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.87 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 16.99. Over the past year, CE's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.54 and as low as 7.84, with a median of 11.46.

We also note that CE holds a PEG ratio of 0.79. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CE's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.66. Within the past year, CE's PEG has been as high as 1.62 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 1.28.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CE's P/B ratio of 3.01. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 6.41. Over the past year, CE's P/B has been as high as 4.69 and as low as 3, with a median of 4.12.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CE has a P/CF ratio of 7.30. 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. CE's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 18.36. Over the past 52 weeks, CE's P/CF has been as high as 13.48 and as low as 7.28, with a median of 10.99.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Celanese'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 CE is an impressive value stock right now.


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