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Is Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 stock to keep an eye on is Group 1 Automotive (GPI - Free Report) . GPI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 6.56 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11. Over the last 12 months, GPI's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.75 and as low as 2.64, with a median of 8.24.

Investors will also notice that GPI has a PEG ratio of 1.22. 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. GPI's industry has an average PEG of 1.86 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, GPI's PEG has been as high as 4.33 and as low as 0.52, with a median of 1.51.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is GPI's P/B ratio of 1.29. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.50. GPI's P/B has been as high as 1.71 and as low as 0.48, with a median of 1.35, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. GPI has a P/S ratio of 0.14. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.27.

Finally, investors should note that GPI has a P/CF ratio of 7.10. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.41. GPI's P/CF has been as high as 8.52 and as low as 2.43, with a median of 7.14, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Group 1 Automotive'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 GPI is an impressive value stock right now.


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