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Should Value Investors Buy Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK) Stock?

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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.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK - Free Report) . GPK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.96, which compares to its industry's average of 12.93. Over the last 12 months, GPK's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.78 and as low as 8.29, with a median of 9.45.

Investors should also recognize that GPK has a P/B ratio of 3.60. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. GPK's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 9.08. Over the past 12 months, GPK's P/B has been as high as 3.85 and as low as 2.95, with a median of 3.41.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. GPK has a P/S ratio of 0.8. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.84.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GPK has a P/CF ratio of 7.38. 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 23.13. Over the past 52 weeks, GPK's P/CF has been as high as 9.12 and as low as 6.35, with a median of 8.15.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Graphic Packaging Holding Company'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 GPK is an impressive value stock right now.


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