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Are Investors Undervaluing The Gap (GPS) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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 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.

One stock to keep an eye on is The Gap (GPS - Free Report) . GPS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 17.06, which compares to its industry's average of 17.24. GPS's Forward P/E has been as high as 22.71 and as low as 10.88, with a median of 14.66, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that GPS has a P/B ratio of 2.92. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 4.37. Within the past 52 weeks, GPS's P/B has been as high as 3.31 and as low as 1.25, with a median of 1.73.

Finally, our model also underscores that GPS has a P/CF ratio of 12.52. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 14.70. GPS's P/CF has been as high as 14.18 and as low as 5.38, with a median of 8.28, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in The Gap'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 GPS is an impressive value stock right now.


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