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Is United States Cellular (USM) a Great Value Stock 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.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

United States Cellular (USM - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. USM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is USM's P/B ratio of 0.60. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. USM's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.69. Over the past year, USM's P/B has been as high as 0.75 and as low as 0.52, with a median of 0.63.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. USM has a P/S ratio of 0.67. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.24.

Finally, we should also recognize that USM has a P/CF ratio of 2.92. 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 5.58. USM's P/CF has been as high as 3.88 and as low as 2.67, with a median of 3.23, 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 United States Cellular is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, USM feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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