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Should Value Investors Buy Reliance Steel (RS) 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Reliance Steel (RS - Free Report) . RS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that RS has a P/B ratio of 1.80. 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 2.27. RS's P/B has been as high as 2.11 and as low as 1.24, with a median of 1.55, over the past year.

Finally, our model also underscores that RS has a P/CF ratio of 9.32. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 14.19. Over the past year, RS's P/CF has been as high as 16.84 and as low as 8.91, with a median of 12.37.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Reliance Steel is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, RS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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