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Should Value Investors Buy Dana (DAN) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Dana (DAN - Free Report) . DAN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.71 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 20.15. DAN's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.48 and as low as 7.71, with a median of 10.05, all within the past year.

We also note that DAN holds a PEG ratio of 0.84. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. DAN's industry has an average PEG of 1.19 right now. Within the past year, DAN's PEG has been as high as 12.36 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.40.

Another notable valuation metric for DAN is its P/B ratio of 1.74. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. DAN's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.98. Over the past year, DAN's P/B has been as high as 2.17 and as low as 0.94, with a median of 1.59.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. DAN has a P/S ratio of 0.43. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.86.

Finally, investors should note that DAN has a P/CF ratio of 7.96. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 20.68. Over the past 52 weeks, DAN's P/CF has been as high as 9.96 and as low as 3.23, with a median of 7.37.

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


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