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Should Value Investors Buy Lazard Ltd (LAZ) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Lazard Ltd (LAZ - Free Report) . LAZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.81, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.54. LAZ's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.02 and as low as 5.48, with a median of 10.97, all within the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. LAZ has a P/S ratio of 1.35. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.94.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Lazard Ltd's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, LAZ looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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