Should Value Investors Buy EZCORP (EZPW) Stock?

EZPW

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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is EZCORP (EZPW - Free Report) . EZPW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

EZPW is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.32. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. EZPW's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.61. Over the past 52 weeks, EZPW's PEG has been as high as 0.42 and as low as 0.26, with a median of 0.31.

Investors should also recognize that EZPW has a P/B ratio of 0.67. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 0.75. EZPW's P/B has been as high as 0.86 and as low as 0.48, with a median of 0.63, over the past year.

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. EZPW has a P/S ratio of 0.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.86.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that EZCORP is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, EZPW feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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