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Are Investors Undervaluing PACCAR (PCAR) Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of 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.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is PACCAR (PCAR - Free Report) . PCAR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.66. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 30.11. PCAR's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.22 and as low as 10.39, with a median of 11.71, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that PCAR has a PEG ratio of 1.17. 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. PCAR's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.23. Over the last 12 months, PCAR's PEG has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 1.04, with a median of 1.17.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PCAR's P/B ratio of 2.77. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 3.21. Within the past 52 weeks, PCAR's P/B has been as high as 3.02 and as low as 2.20, with a median of 2.53.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. PCAR has a P/S ratio of 1.27. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.53.

Finally, our model also underscores that PCAR has a P/CF ratio of 9.62. 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. PCAR's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.94. PCAR's P/CF has been as high as 11.45 and as low as 8.57, with a median of 10.20, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in PACCAR's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, PCAR looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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