Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Seaspan (SSW) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 Seaspan . SSW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.87. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.03. SSW's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.16 and as low as 5.16, with a median of 8.32, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that SSW has a P/B ratio of 0.42. 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 stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 0.95. Over the past year, SSW's P/B has been as high as 0.63 and as low as 0.35, with a median of 0.48.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. SSW has a P/S ratio of 1.04. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.12.

Finally, our model also underscores that SSW has a P/CF ratio of 2.69. 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. SSW's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 9.99. Over the past 52 weeks, SSW's P/CF has been as high as 3.25 and as low as 1.82, with a median of 2.67.

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

Published in