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Is Lazard (LAZ) 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.

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 Lazard (LAZ - Free Report) . LAZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 10.95 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 12.16. LAZ's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.02 and as low as 5.48, with a median of 11.09, all within the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. LAZ has a P/S ratio of 1.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.44.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Lazard's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, LAZ looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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