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Should Value Investors Buy Anixter International (AXE) Stock?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Anixter International . AXE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

We also note that AXE holds a PEG ratio of 1.58. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. AXE's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.63. Within the past year, AXE's PEG has been as high as 1.73 and as low as 1, with a median of 1.21.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that AXE has a P/CF ratio of 10.12. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.44. AXE's P/CF has been as high as 11.52 and as low as 7.14, with a median of 9.35, all within the past year.

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

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