Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy Fresenius (FMS) Stock?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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 stock to keep an eye on is Fresenius (FMS - Free Report) . FMS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 15.01 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 38.56. Over the last 12 months, FMS's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.14 and as low as 10.57, with a median of 14.61.

We also note that FMS holds a PEG ratio of 1.96. 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. FMS's industry has an average PEG of 3.22 right now. Over the last 12 months, FMS's PEG has been as high as 3.69 and as low as 1.89, with a median of 2.36.

Investors should also recognize that FMS has a P/B ratio of 1.69. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. FMS's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.08. FMS's P/B has been as high as 1.89 and as low as 1.18, with a median of 1.56, over the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that FMS has a P/CF ratio of 7.39. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 24.60. FMS's P/CF has been as high as 8.30 and as low as 5.59, with a median of 7.49, all within the past year.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS) - free report >>

Published in