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Are Investors Undervaluing Vera Bradley (VRA) 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 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.

Vera Bradley (VRA - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. VRA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.89 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.06. Over the past 52 weeks, VRA's Forward P/E has been as high as 25.42 and as low as 6.63, with a median of 10.87.

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. VRA has a P/S ratio of 0.35. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.43.

Finally, investors should note that VRA has a P/CF ratio of 4.16. 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. VRA's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.36. VRA's P/CF has been as high as 4.91 and as low as 2.48, with a median of 3.85, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Vera Bradley'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, VRA looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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