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Is Koppers (KOP) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of 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.

Koppers (KOP - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. KOP is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 5.70, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.64. Over the past year, KOP's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.05 and as low as 4.88, with a median of 6.39.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is KOP's P/B ratio of 1.37. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 2.22. Within the past 52 weeks, KOP's P/B has been as high as 1.97 and as low as 1.10, with a median of 1.51.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. KOP has a P/S ratio of 0.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.65.

Finally, investors should note that KOP has a P/CF ratio of 4.47. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 6.96. Over the past year, KOP's P/CF has been as high as 5.83 and as low as 3.17, with a median of 4.40.

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


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