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Are Investors Undervaluing Greif (GEF) 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.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 Greif (GEF - Free Report) . GEF is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.81, which compares to its industry's average of 12.29. Over the past year, GEF's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.92 and as low as 8.15, with a median of 9.74.

Investors will also notice that GEF has a PEG ratio of 0.98. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. GEF's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.29. Over the past 52 weeks, GEF's PEG has been as high as 1.29 and as low as 0.81, with a median of 0.97.

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. GEF has a P/S ratio of 0.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.91.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Greif's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that GEF is an impressive value stock right now.


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