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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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

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 P/E ratio of 11.99 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 22.61. Over the past 52 weeks, MTX's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.26 and as low as 8.56, with a median of 10.56.

We should also highlight that MTX has a P/B ratio of 1.43. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.99. Within the past 52 weeks, MTX's P/B has been as high as 1.46 and as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.17.

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 1.09. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.6.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Minerals Technologies'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 MTX is an impressive value stock right now.


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