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Should Value Investors Buy CF Industries (CF) Stock?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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 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 company to watch right now is CF Industries (CF - Free Report) . CF is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

We also note that CF holds a PEG ratio of 2.48. 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. CF's industry has an average PEG of 3.26 right now. Within the past year, CF's PEG has been as high as 2.67 and as low as 1.66, with a median of 2.31.

Another notable valuation metric for CF is its P/B ratio of 1.99. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. CF's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.10. Over the past 12 months, CF's P/B has been as high as 2.04 and as low as 1.57, with a median of 1.80.

Finally, our model also underscores that CF has a P/CF ratio of 7.55. 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. CF's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 15.37. CF's P/CF has been as high as 7.95 and as low as 4.79, with a median of 6.85, all within the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that CF Industries is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CF feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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