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Should Value Investors Buy AGCO (AGCO) 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

AGCO (AGCO - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AGCO is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.54, while its industry has an average P/E of 13.24. Over the past 52 weeks, AGCO's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.20 and as low as 6.88, with a median of 9.77.

Investors will also notice that AGCO has a PEG ratio of 1. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. AGCO's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.11. Over the past 52 weeks, AGCO's PEG has been as high as 1.23 and as low as 0.68, with a median of 0.97.

Investors should also recognize that AGCO has a P/B ratio of 2.73. 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. AGCO's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.94. Over the past 12 months, AGCO's P/B has been as high as 3.23 and as low as 1.97, with a median of 2.59.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. AGCO has a P/S ratio of 0.84. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.16.

Finally, our model also underscores that AGCO has a P/CF ratio of 9.21. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.35. Over the past year, AGCO's P/CF has been as high as 9.50 and as low as 6.18, with a median of 8.12.

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


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