Should Value Investors Buy Lazard (LAZ) Stock?

LAZ

The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Lazard (LAZ - Free Report) . LAZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.59, which compares to its industry's average of 13.48. Over the last 12 months, LAZ's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.02 and as low as 5.48, with a median of 11.08.

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. LAZ has a P/S ratio of 1.66. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.14.

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

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