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Should Value Investors Buy Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. 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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM - Free Report) . SQM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 6.71, which compares to its industry's average of 9.55. Over the past year, SQM's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.48 and as low as 4.83, with a median of 6.33.

Investors should also note that SQM holds a PEG ratio of 0.46. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. SQM's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.35. Over the past 52 weeks, SQM's PEG has been as high as 0.56 and as low as 0.33, with a median of 0.43.

Finally, our model also underscores that SQM has a P/CF ratio of 5.50. 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 7.10. Over the past 52 weeks, SQM's P/CF has been as high as 15.56 and as low as 4.69, with a median of 6.81.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Sociedad Quimica y Minera's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that SQM is an impressive value stock right now.


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