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Are Investors Undervaluing These Auto-Tires-Trucks Stocks Right Now?

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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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

LKQ (LKQ - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. LKQ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 14.25, which compares to its industry's average of 14.37. Over the past year, LKQ's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.88 and as low as 12.70, with a median of 14.51.

Investors should also recognize that LKQ has a P/B ratio of 2.79. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.92. Over the past year, LKQ's P/B has been as high as 2.94 and as low as 1.86, with a median of 2.50.

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. LKQ has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.51.

Finally, we should also recognize that LKQ has a P/CF ratio of 12.57. 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. LKQ's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 16.03. Over the past year, LKQ's P/CF has been as high as 14.67 and as low as 11.07, with a median of 12.52.

Standard Motor Products (SMP - Free Report) may be another strong Automotive - Replacement Parts stock to add to your shortlist. SMP is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Standard Motor Products also has a P/B ratio of 1.90 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.92. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.23, as low as 1.53, with a median of 1.74.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in LKQ and Standard Motor Products'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 LKQ and SMP is an impressive value stock right now.


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