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Should Value Investors Buy A.P. Moller-Maersk (AMKBY) Stock?

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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 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 A.P. Moller-Maersk (AMKBY - Free Report) . AMKBY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 3.02, while its industry has an average P/E of 3.70. AMKBY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.86 and as low as -28.79, with a median of 5.51, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that AMKBY has a P/B ratio of 1.12. 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 stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.14. AMKBY's P/B has been as high as 1.83 and as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.48, over the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that AMKBY has a P/CF ratio of 1.75. 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. AMKBY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 3.11. Within the past 12 months, AMKBY's P/CF has been as high as 4.65 and as low as 1.54, with a median of 2.88.

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

Furthermore, Euroseas holds a P/B ratio of 1.60 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.14. ESEA's P/B has been as high as 5.88, as low as 1.43, with a median of 2.78 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 A.P. Moller-Maersk and Euroseas are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, AMKBY and ESEA feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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