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Should Value Investors Buy Target (TGT) Stock?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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.

Target (TGT - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. TGT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.17. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 29.25. TGT's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.21 and as low as 12.31, with a median of 15.02, all within the past year.

Investors should also note that TGT holds a PEG ratio of 1.14. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. TGT's industry has an average PEG of 2.68 right now. Over the last 12 months, TGT's PEG has been as high as 1.83 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.05.

Another notable valuation metric for TGT is its P/B ratio of 5.49. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 13.82. Over the past 12 months, TGT's P/B has been as high as 7.10 and as low as 3.94, with a median of 5.22.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. TGT has a P/S ratio of 0.65. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.06.

Finally, investors should note that TGT has a P/CF ratio of 10.75. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 28.98. Over the past year, TGT's P/CF has been as high as 14.63 and as low as 7.72, with a median of 10.36.

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


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