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Is BGC Partners (BGCP) a Great Value Stock 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.

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.

BGC Partners is a stock many investors are watching right now. BGCP is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.23, while its industry has an average P/E of 13.17. BGCP's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.53 and as low as 5.58, with a median of 7.57, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is BGCP's P/B ratio of 2.48. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 2.58. Over the past year, BGCP's P/B has been as high as 3.11 and as low as 1.92, with a median of 2.54.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. BGCP has a P/S ratio of 0.83. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.93.

Finally, our model also underscores that BGCP has a P/CF ratio of 8.24. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.67. Over the past year, BGCP's P/CF has been as high as 14.58 and as low as 7.15, with a median of 10.56.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in BGC Partners'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, BGCP looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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