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Should Value Investors Buy Sumitomo (SSUMY) 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Sumitomo (SSUMY - Free Report) . SSUMY is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.41. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.07. Over the past 52 weeks, SSUMY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.61 and as low as 7.05, with a median of 8.56.

Investors will also notice that SSUMY has a PEG ratio of 0.50. 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. SSUMY's industry currently sports an average PEG of 0.60. Over the last 12 months, SSUMY's PEG has been as high as 8.27 and as low as 0.16, with a median of 0.19.

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. SSUMY has a P/S ratio of 0.66. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.28.

Finally, investors should note that SSUMY has a P/CF ratio of 9.77. 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. SSUMY's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 20.49. Over the past 52 weeks, SSUMY's P/CF has been as high as 11.18 and as low as 5.61, with a median of 6.64.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Sumitomo'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 SSUMY is an impressive value stock right now.


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