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Should Value Investors Buy Magna (MGA) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 value investors might notice is Magna (MGA - Free Report) . MGA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.13, while its industry has an average P/E of 35.18. MGA's Forward P/E has been as high as 21.36 and as low as 3.92, with a median of 12.55, all within the past year.

We also note that MGA holds a PEG ratio of 1.72. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MGA's industry currently sports an average PEG of 3. Over the past 52 weeks, MGA's PEG has been as high as 6.48 and as low as 0.63, with a median of 2.60.

We should also highlight that MGA has a P/B ratio of 2.39. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.41. MGA's P/B has been as high as 2.39 and as low as 0.66, with a median of 1.47, over 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. MGA has a P/S ratio of 0.86. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.01.

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


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