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Should Value Investors Buy Aercap (AER) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

Aercap (AER - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AER is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.38 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 8.14. Over the last 12 months, AER's Forward P/E has been as high as 108.78 and as low as 5.12, with a median of 6.78.

Investors will also notice that AER has a PEG ratio of 0.90. 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. AER's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.98. Over the past 52 weeks, AER's PEG has been as high as 5.86 and as low as 0.28, with a median of 0.51.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is AER's P/B ratio of 0.93. 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 0.99. Within the past 52 weeks, AER's P/B has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.62, with a median of 0.80.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. AER has a P/S ratio of 2.14. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.79.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that AER has a P/CF ratio of 9.50. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.56. Over the past year, AER's P/CF has been as high as 13.90 and as low as 2.92, with a median of 8.51.

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


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