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Are Investors Undervaluing Sappi (SPPJY) 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of 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.

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 Sappi (SPPJY - Free Report) . SPPJY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.34, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.88. Over the past year, SPPJY's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.72 and as low as 5, with a median of 7.28.

Investors will also notice that SPPJY has a PEG ratio of 0.54. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. SPPJY's industry has an average PEG of 1.14 right now. SPPJY's PEG has been as high as 3.71 and as low as 0.19, with a median of 0.26, all within the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. SPPJY has a P/S ratio of 0.28. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.61.

Finally, investors should note that SPPJY has a P/CF ratio of 6.25. 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. SPPJY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 6.41. Over the past year, SPPJY's P/CF has been as high as 6.25 and as low as 1.51, with a median of 2.23.

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


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