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Are Investors Undervaluing Commercial Metals (CMC) Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

Commercial Metals (CMC - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. CMC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.07. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.23. Over the past 52 weeks, CMC's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.05 and as low as 3.85, with a median of 7.24.

Finally, we should also recognize that CMC has a P/CF ratio of 4.51. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.10. Within the past 12 months, CMC's P/CF has been as high as 6.21 and as low as 3.07, with a median of 4.12.

Investors could also keep in mind Ryerson (RYI - Free Report) , an Steel - Producers stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Ryerson also has a P/B ratio of 1.58 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.57. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.72, as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.35.

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


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