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Is Synchrony (SYF) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Synchrony (SYF - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. SYF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.18, which compares to its industry's average of 16.08. Over the last 12 months, SYF's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.30 and as low as 3.16, with a median of 9.72.

We also note that SYF holds a PEG ratio of 1.85. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. SYF's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.24. Over the last 12 months, SYF's PEG has been as high as 2.97 and as low as 0.44, with a median of 1.80.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SYF's P/B ratio of 1.78. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.82. SYF's P/B has been as high as 1.78 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 1.31, over 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. SYF has a P/S ratio of 1.19. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.08.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Synchrony'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 SYF is an impressive value stock right now.


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