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Is CRH (CRH) Stock Undervalued 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, 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.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is CRH (CRH - Free Report) . CRH is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 13.81 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 16.26. Over the last 12 months, CRH's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.40 and as low as 10.67, with a median of 12.77.

We also note that CRH holds a PEG ratio of 0.90. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CRH's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.32. Over the past 52 weeks, CRH's PEG has been as high as 4.36 and as low as 0.56, with a median of 1.15.

Investors could also keep in mind United Rentals (URI - Free Report) , an Building Products - Miscellaneous stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Shares of United Rentals are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 12.97 and a PEG ratio of 0.87 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 16.26 and 1.32, respectively.

URI's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.96 and as low as 7.57, with a median of 10.60. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.93, as low as 0.47, with a median of 0.66.

United Rentals sports a P/B ratio of 4.92 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 72.24. In the past 52 weeks, URI's P/B has been as high as 5.07, as low as 3.15, with a median of 4.10.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in CRH and United Rentals strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, CRH and URI look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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