Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy Summit Materials (SUM) Stock?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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, 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 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 Summit Materials (SUM - Free Report) . SUM is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that SUM has a P/B ratio of 2.19. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.77. Over the past year, SUM's P/B has been as high as 2.27 and as low as 1.40, with a median of 1.76.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SUM has a P/S ratio of 1.79. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.09.

Finally, we should also recognize that SUM has a P/CF ratio of 8.81. 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. SUM's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 27.93. Over the past 52 weeks, SUM's P/CF has been as high as 9.15 and as low as 5.54, with a median of 7.07.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Summit Materials, Inc. (SUM) - free report >>

Published in