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Zacks.com featured highlights include Signet Jewelers, NRG Energy, Unum Group and Sterling Infrastructure
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 17, 2023 – Stocks in this week’s article are Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG - Free Report) , NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG - Free Report) , Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL - Free Report) .
Pick These Low P/CF Stocks to Spruce Up Your Portfolio
Value style is considered one of the best practices when it comes to picking stocks. Value investing is essentially about selecting stocks that are fundamentally sound but have been beaten down by some external factors. Such stocks are poised to bounce back as and when investors recognize the inherent value of companies. Certainly, the value investment strategy best suits investors with a long-term horizon.
There are different valuation metrics to determine a stock's inherent strength. Still, a random selection of a ratio cannot serve your purpose if you want a realistic assessment of a company's financial position. For this, the Price to Cash Flow (or P/CF) ratio is one of the key metrics. Signet Jewelers Ltd., NRG Energy, Inc., Unum Group and Sterling Infrastructure boast a low P/CF ratio.
This metric evaluates the market price of a stock relative to the amount of cash flow that the company is generating on a per-share basis – the lower the number, the better. One of the important factors that makes P/CF a highly dependable metric is that operating cash flow adds back non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization to net income, truly diagnosing a company's financial health.
Analysts caution that a company's earnings are subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. However, cash flow is reliable. Net cash flow unveils how much money a company is actually generating and how effectively management is deploying the same.
Positive cash flow indicates an increase in a company's liquid assets. It gives the company the means to settle debt, meet its expenses, reinvest in its business, endure downturns and finally pay back its shareholders. Negative cash flow implies a decline in the company's liquidity, which in turn lowers its flexibility to support these moves.
However, solely based on the P/CF metric, an investment decision may not fetch the desired results. To identify stocks trading at a discount, you should expand your search criteria and consider the price-to-book ratio, price-to-earnings ratio and price-to-sales ratio. Adding a favorable Zacks Rank and a Value Score of A or B to your search criteria should lead to even better results as these eliminate the chance of falling into a value trap.
Here are four of the seven stocks that qualified the screening:
Signet has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 44.8%, on average. SIG has a Value Score of A. The stock has declined 19.5% in the past year.
NRG Energy operates as an integrated power company in the United States. This Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected EPS growth rate of 12.1% for three-five years. NRG Energy has a Value Score of A.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NRG Energy's current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 19.8% and 45%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Shares of NRG have declined 22% in the past year.
Unum Group, which provides financial protection benefit solutions, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an expected EPS growth rate of 12.2% for three-five years. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 34.9%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Unum Group's current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 0.6% and 43.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Unum Group has a Value Score of A. Shares of UNM have gained 47.3% in the past year.
Sterling Infrastructure, which is engaged in transportation, e-infrastructure, and building solutions, carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has an expected EPS growth rate of 18% for three-five years. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sterling Infrastructure's current financial-year sales and EPS suggests growth of 21.2% and 46.1%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Sterling Infrastructure has a Value Score of A. The stock has jumped 21.5% in the past year.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and backtest them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
About Screen of the Week
Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks.com featured highlights include Signet Jewelers, NRG Energy, Unum Group and Sterling Infrastructure
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 17, 2023 – Stocks in this week’s article are Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG - Free Report) , NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG - Free Report) , Unum Group (UNM - Free Report) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL - Free Report) .
Pick These Low P/CF Stocks to Spruce Up Your Portfolio
Value style is considered one of the best practices when it comes to picking stocks. Value investing is essentially about selecting stocks that are fundamentally sound but have been beaten down by some external factors. Such stocks are poised to bounce back as and when investors recognize the inherent value of companies. Certainly, the value investment strategy best suits investors with a long-term horizon.
There are different valuation metrics to determine a stock's inherent strength. Still, a random selection of a ratio cannot serve your purpose if you want a realistic assessment of a company's financial position. For this, the Price to Cash Flow (or P/CF) ratio is one of the key metrics. Signet Jewelers Ltd., NRG Energy, Inc., Unum Group and Sterling Infrastructure boast a low P/CF ratio.
This metric evaluates the market price of a stock relative to the amount of cash flow that the company is generating on a per-share basis – the lower the number, the better. One of the important factors that makes P/CF a highly dependable metric is that operating cash flow adds back non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization to net income, truly diagnosing a company's financial health.
Analysts caution that a company's earnings are subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. However, cash flow is reliable. Net cash flow unveils how much money a company is actually generating and how effectively management is deploying the same.
Positive cash flow indicates an increase in a company's liquid assets. It gives the company the means to settle debt, meet its expenses, reinvest in its business, endure downturns and finally pay back its shareholders. Negative cash flow implies a decline in the company's liquidity, which in turn lowers its flexibility to support these moves.
However, solely based on the P/CF metric, an investment decision may not fetch the desired results. To identify stocks trading at a discount, you should expand your search criteria and consider the price-to-book ratio, price-to-earnings ratio and price-to-sales ratio. Adding a favorable Zacks Rank and a Value Score of A or B to your search criteria should lead to even better results as these eliminate the chance of falling into a value trap.
Here are four of the seven stocks that qualified the screening:
Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, sports a Zacks Rank #1. It has an expected EPS growth rate of 8% for three-five years. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Signet has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 44.8%, on average. SIG has a Value Score of A. The stock has declined 19.5% in the past year.
NRG Energy operates as an integrated power company in the United States. This Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected EPS growth rate of 12.1% for three-five years. NRG Energy has a Value Score of A.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NRG Energy's current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 19.8% and 45%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Shares of NRG have declined 22% in the past year.
Unum Group, which provides financial protection benefit solutions, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an expected EPS growth rate of 12.2% for three-five years. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 34.9%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Unum Group's current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 0.6% and 43.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Unum Group has a Value Score of A. Shares of UNM have gained 47.3% in the past year.
Sterling Infrastructure, which is engaged in transportation, e-infrastructure, and building solutions, carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has an expected EPS growth rate of 18% for three-five years. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sterling Infrastructure's current financial-year sales and EPS suggests growth of 21.2% and 46.1%, respectively, from the year-ago period. Sterling Infrastructure has a Value Score of A. The stock has jumped 21.5% in the past year.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and backtest them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2039691/pick-these-4-low-pcf-stocks-to-spruce-up-your-portfolio
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
About Screen of the Week
Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.
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Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Contact: Jim Giaquinto
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9268
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: https://www.zacks.com/
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.