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Should Value Investors Buy HarleyDavidson (HOG) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 HarleyDavidson (HOG - Free Report) . HOG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

We also note that HOG holds a PEG ratio of 1.03. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. HOG's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.91. Over the last 12 months, HOG's PEG has been as high as 1.14 and as low as 0.18, with a median of 0.79.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HOG's P/B ratio of 2.34. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 4.36. Within the past 52 weeks, HOG's P/B has been as high as 2.61 and as low as 1.74, with a median of 2.24.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. HOG has a P/S ratio of 1.2. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.96.

Finally, our model also underscores that HOG has a P/CF ratio of 6.76. 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. HOG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 13.74. HOG's P/CF has been as high as 7.66 and as low as 5.18, with a median of 6.48, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that HarleyDavidson is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, HOG sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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