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Are Investors Undervaluing Minerals Technologies (MTX) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Minerals Technologies (MTX - Free Report) . MTX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.03, which compares to its industry's average of 20.99. Over the past year, MTX's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.26 and as low as 8.32, with a median of 10.51.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is MTX's P/B ratio of 1.10. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.07. MTX's P/B has been as high as 1.46 and as low as 1.03, with a median of 1.21, over the past year.

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. MTX has a P/S ratio of 0.83. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.37.

Finally, we should also recognize that MTX has a P/CF ratio of 8.85. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 13.69. MTX's P/CF has been as high as 10.91 and as low as 6.15, with a median of 8.36, all within the past year.

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


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