Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is ArcelorMittal (MT) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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

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 company to watch right now is ArcelorMittal (MT - Free Report) . MT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 2.57 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 4.05. Over the last 12 months, MT's Forward P/E has been as high as 5.53 and as low as 2.46, with a median of 3.29.

We should also highlight that MT has a P/B ratio of 0.46. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 0.94. Over the past year, MT's P/B has been as high as 0.82 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 0.64.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. MT has a P/S ratio of 0.31. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.32.

Finally, our model also underscores that MT has a P/CF ratio of 1.38. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. MT's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 3.84. Over the past 52 weeks, MT's P/CF has been as high as 7.45 and as low as 1.37, with a median of 2.35.

Another great Steel - Producers stock you could consider is Ryerson (RYI - Free Report) , which is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Furthermore, Ryerson holds a P/B ratio of 1.80 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 0.94. RYI's P/B has been as high as 3.81, as low as 1.31, with a median of 2.24 over the past 12 months.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


ArcelorMittal (MT) - free report >>

Ryerson Holding Corporation (RYI) - free report >>

Published in