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Are Investors Undervaluing Flex (FLEX) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company value investors might notice is Flex (FLEX - Free Report) . FLEX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.61. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.11. FLEX's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.76 and as low as 7.49, with a median of 9.67, all within the past year.

FLEX is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.58. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. FLEX's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.52. Within the past year, FLEX's PEG has been as high as 1.02 and as low as 0.50, with a median of 0.81.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is FLEX's P/B ratio of 2.24. 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 4.80. Over the past 12 months, FLEX's P/B has been as high as 2.75 and as low as 1.94, with a median of 2.45.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FLEX has a P/S ratio of 0.34. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.99.

Finally, we should also recognize that FLEX has a P/CF ratio of 5.84. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.40. FLEX's P/CF has been as high as 8.13 and as low as 5.06, with a median of 6.40, all within the past year.

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


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