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Is Central Garden (CENT) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 Central Garden (CENT - Free Report) . CENT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that CENT has a P/B ratio of 2.11. 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 4.43. Over the past 12 months, CENT's P/B has been as high as 2.26 and as low as 1.43, with a median of 1.86.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CENT has a P/CF ratio of 13.46. 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. CENT's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 16.85. CENT's P/CF has been as high as 14.44 and as low as 9.83, with a median of 12.56, 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 Central Garden is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CENT feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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