Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Costamare (CMRE) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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.

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 company to watch right now is Costamare (CMRE - Free Report) . CMRE is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 4.24, while its industry has an average P/E of 6.50. Over the last 12 months, CMRE's Forward P/E has been as high as 5.37 and as low as 2.36, with a median of 3.51.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CMRE's P/B ratio of 0.54. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. CMRE's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.43. Within the past 52 weeks, CMRE's P/B has been as high as 0.61 and as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.51.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. CMRE has a P/S ratio of 0.99. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.24.

Finally, investors should note that CMRE has a P/CF ratio of 1.91. 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. CMRE's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.89. Within the past 12 months, CMRE's P/CF has been as high as 1.99 and as low as 1.22, with a median of 1.63.

Teekay Tankers (TNK - Free Report) may be another strong Transportation - Shipping stock to add to your shortlist. TNK is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Teekay Tankers currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 4.58, and its PEG ratio is 1.53. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 6.50 and 0.44.

Over the last 12 months, TNK's P/E has been as high as 7.12, as low as 2.08, with a median of 4.25, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.37, as low as 0.69, with a median of 1.42.

Teekay Tankers also has a P/B ratio of 1.45 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.43. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.51, as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.10.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Costamare and Teekay Tankers are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CMRE and TNK sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Costamare Inc. (CMRE) - free report >>

Teekay Tankers Ltd. (TNK) - free report >>

Published in