Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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

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.

Navios Maritime Partners (NMM - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. NMM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 1.66 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 4.31. Over the past year, NMM's Forward P/E has been as high as 3.44 and as low as 1.28, with a median of 2.09.

Another notable valuation metric for NMM is its P/B ratio of 0.48. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. NMM's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.20. Over the past year, NMM's P/B has been as high as 0.66 and as low as 0.27, with a median of 0.46.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. NMM has a P/S ratio of 0.98. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.51.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that NMM has a P/CF ratio of 1.47. 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. NMM's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 4.05. NMM's P/CF has been as high as 2.74 and as low as 1.14, with a median of 1.75, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Safe Bulkers (SB - Free Report) , an Transportation - Shipping stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Safe Bulkers also has a P/B ratio of 0.75 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.20. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.12, as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.77.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Navios Maritime Partners and Safe Bulkers strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, NMM and SB look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Safe Bulkers, Inc (SB) - free report >>

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM) - free report >>

Published in