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Is Lazard Ltd (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.

Lazard Ltd (LAZ - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. LAZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 11.44, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.09. LAZ's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.02 and as low as 5.48, with a median of 11.14, all within the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. LAZ has a P/S ratio of 1.74. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.68.

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


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