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Is United States Cellular (USM) 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, 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.

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

Investors should also recognize that USM has a P/B ratio of 0.58. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.69. Within the past 52 weeks, USM's P/B has been as high as 0.75 and as low as 0.52, with a median of 0.64.

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. USM has a P/S ratio of 0.62. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.07.

Finally, investors should note that USM has a P/CF ratio of 2.86. 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. USM's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.58. USM's P/CF has been as high as 3.88 and as low as 2.69, with a median of 3.27, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in United States Cellular'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 USM is an impressive value stock right now.


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