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Should Value Investors Buy Owens Corning (OC) Stock?

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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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 company value investors might notice is Owens Corning (OC - Free Report) . OC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.75, while its industry has an average P/E of 20.33. Over the past year, OC's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.95 and as low as 6, with a median of 14.39.

Investors should also note that OC holds a PEG ratio of 0.91. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. OC's industry has an average PEG of 1.77 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, OC's PEG has been as high as 4.73 and as low as 0.57, with a median of 1.39.

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. OC has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.91.

Finally, our model also underscores that OC has a P/CF ratio of 8.47. 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. OC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.63. OC's P/CF has been as high as 9.36 and as low as 3.98, with a median of 8.19, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Owens Corning'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, OC looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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