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Are Investors Undervaluing Flex (FLEX) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

Flex (FLEX - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. FLEX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.82, which compares to its industry's average of 16.82. Over the last 12 months, FLEX's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.41 and as low as 8.10, with a median of 9.78.

We also note that FLEX holds a PEG ratio of 0.71. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. FLEX's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.73. FLEX's PEG has been as high as 1.09 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 0.78, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is FLEX's P/B ratio of 1.74. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 3.84. FLEX's P/B has been as high as 2.51 and as low as 1.56, with a median of 2.09, 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. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FLEX has a P/S ratio of 0.38. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.82.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that FLEX has a P/CF ratio of 8.77. 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. FLEX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 18.91. Over the past 52 weeks, FLEX's P/CF has been as high as 10.08 and as low as 6.98, with a median of 8.72.

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


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