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Is Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK) Stock Undervalued 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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. GPK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.87 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 12.96. Over the past year, GPK's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.78 and as low as 8.29, with a median of 9.10.

Investors should also recognize that GPK has a P/B ratio of 3.52. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 8.33. GPK's P/B has been as high as 3.85 and as low as 3.04, with a median of 3.45, over the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. GPK has a P/S ratio of 0.79. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.82.

Finally, our model also underscores that GPK has a P/CF ratio of 7.03. 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 21. Over the past year, GPK's P/CF has been as high as 9.12 and as low as 6.20, with a median of 7.28.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Graphic Packaging Holding Company is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, GPK feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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