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Is Standard Motor Products (SMP) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Standard Motor Products (SMP - Free Report) . SMP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.42, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.25. SMP's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.83 and as low as 8.23, with a median of 11.02, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that SMP has a P/B ratio of 1.58. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.66. SMP's P/B has been as high as 2.01 and as low as 1.33, with a median of 1.62, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SMP has a P/S ratio of 0.72. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.14.

Finally, we should also recognize that SMP has a P/CF ratio of 8.65. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.44. Over the past 52 weeks, SMP's P/CF has been as high as 11.04 and as low as 7.30, with a median of 8.56.

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


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