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Is Safe Bulkers (SB) Stock Undervalued 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, 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.

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 Safe Bulkers (SB - Free Report) . SB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 3.23. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 5.44. Over the past year, SB's Forward P/E has been as high as 43.66 and as low as -404.46, with a median of 6.05.

Another notable valuation metric for SB is its P/B ratio of 0.68. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 0.97. Over the past 12 months, SB's P/B has been as high as 0.95 and as low as 0.20, with a median of 0.40.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SB has a P/S ratio of 1.52. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.54.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SB has a P/CF ratio of 4.41. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.57. SB's P/CF has been as high as 7.40 and as low as 2.48, with a median of 3.48, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Safe Bulkers'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, SB looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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