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Should Value Investors Buy These Finance Stocks?

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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.

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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Enova International (ENVA - Free Report) . ENVA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 5.86, while its industry has an average P/E of 5.97. Over the last 12 months, ENVA's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.15 and as low as 5.15, with a median of 6.41.

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. ENVA has a P/S ratio of 1.03. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.27.

Navient (NAVI - Free Report) may be another strong Financial - Consumer Loans stock to add to your shortlist. NAVI is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Additionally, Navient has a P/B ratio of 0.96 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 0.89. For NAVI, this valuation metric has been as high as 1.45, as low as 0.94, with a median of 1.19 over the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Enova International and Navient are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ENVA and NAVI sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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