Is Macy's (M) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

M

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is Macy's (M - Free Report) . M is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.29, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.78. Over the last 12 months, M's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.55 and as low as 7.12, with a median of 9.46.

Investors should also note that M holds a PEG ratio of 0.98. 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. M's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.35. Over the last 12 months, M's PEG has been as high as 1.36 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.11.

Investors should also recognize that M has a P/B ratio of 1.67. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. M's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.87. Over the past year, M's P/B has been as high as 2.18 and as low as 1.26, with a median of 1.82.

Finally, investors should note that M has a P/CF ratio of 3.67. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 4.59. M's P/CF has been as high as 5.02 and as low as 2.89, with a median of 4.17, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Macy's'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 M is an impressive value stock right now.

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