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Are These Industrial Products Stocks a Great Value Stocks 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. 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 stock to keep an eye on is Mitsui & Co. (MITSY - Free Report) . MITSY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.49. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.86. Over the past 52 weeks, MITSY's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.97 and as low as 5.03, with a median of 7.77.

We should also highlight that MITSY has a P/B ratio of 0.80. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 2.04. Over the past year, MITSY's P/B has been as high as 0.89 and as low as 0.72, with a median of 0.81.

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. MITSY has a P/S ratio of 0.38. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.59.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that MITSY has a P/CF ratio of 4.36. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. MITSY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 14.50. MITSY's P/CF has been as high as 7.49 and as low as 4.12, with a median of 6.17, all within the past year.

Another great Metal Products - Distribution stock you could consider is Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Over the past year, RS's P/E has been as high as 16.57, as low as 9.35, with a median of 13.67; its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.84, as low as 1.21, with a median of 0.31 during the same time period.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. sports a P/B ratio of 1.60 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.04. In the past 52 weeks, RS's P/B has been as high as 2.11, as low as 1.44, with a median of 1.70.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Mitsui & Co. and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.'s great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that MITSY and RS is an impressive value stock right now.


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