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Is Encore Capital Group (ECPG) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Encore Capital Group (ECPG - Free Report) . ECPG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.71. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 5.76. Over the past year, ECPG's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.07 and as low as 4.45, with a median of 6.03.

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. ECPG has a P/S ratio of 0.89. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.1.

Investors could also keep in mind EZCORP (EZPW - Free Report) , an Financial - Consumer Loans stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

EZCORP is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 10.43 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 0.30. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 5.76 and average PEG ratio of 0.23.

EZPW's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 55.03 and as low as 9.21, with a median of 13.52, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.48 and as low as 0.26, with a median of 0.36, all within the past year.

EZCORP sports a P/B ratio of 0.64 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 0.87. In the past 52 weeks, EZPW's P/B has been as high as 0.72, as low as 0.47, with a median of 0.57.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Encore Capital Group and EZCORP are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, ECPG and EZPW feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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