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5 Valuable Price-to-Sales Stocks for Solid Returns

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It is essential to ascertain the value of stocks before investing. Following this principle, investors determine the worth of a stock using various valuation metrics at disposal. While the Price-to-Earnings ratio is the first to cross one’s mind when using valuation metrics, Price-to-Sales has emerged as a useful measure in narrowing down the list of valuable stocks.

The Price-to-Sales ratio helps determine the value of stocks that are suffering losses or are in the early cycle of development, generating meager or no profits. Though a loss-making company with a negative Price-to-Earnings ratio falls out of investors’ favor, its Price-to-Sales ratio could indicate the hidden strength in its business. This underrated ratio is also used to identify recovery situations or ensure that a company's growth is not overvalued.

Price-to-Sales is often preferred to Price-to-Earnings, as companies and managements can fiddle with their earnings figure using various accounting measures. However, sales are harder to manipulate and are relatively reliable.

A stock’s Price-to-Sales ratio reflects the amount investors pay for each dollar of revenues generated by the company.

If the Price-to-Sales ratio is 1, it means that investors are paying $1 for every $1 of revenues generated by the company. So it goes without saying that a stock with a Price-to-Sales ratio below 1 is a good bargain, as investors need to pay less than a dollar for a dollar’s worth.  

Thus, a stock with a lower Price-to-Sales ratio is a more suitable investment choice than one with a high ratio.

However, one should keep in mind that a company with high debt and low Price-to-Sales is not an ideal choice. The high debt level will have to be paid off at some point, leading to further share issuance and a rise in market cap and ultimately a higher Price-to-Sales ratio.

In any case, the Price-to-Sales ratio used in isolation can’t do the trick. One should also analyze other ratios like Price/Earnings, Price/Book, Debt/Equity before arriving at any investment decision.

Screening Parameters

Price to Sales less than Median Price to Sales for its Industry: The lower the Price-to-Sales ratio, the better.

Price to Earnings using F(1) estimate less than Median Price to Earnings for its Industry: The lower, the better.

Price to Book (common Equity) less than Median Price to Book for its Industry: This is another parameter to ensure the value feature of a stock.

Debt to Equity (Most Recent) less than Median Debt to Equity for its Industry: A company with less debt should have a stable Price-to-Sales ratio.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5.

Zacks Rank less than or equal to #2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.

Value Style Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Value Style Score of ‘A’ or ‘B’ when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best opportunities in the value investing space.

Here are five of the 20 stocks that passed the screen:

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV - Free Report) is a sporting goods retailer in the western U.S., offering athletic shoes, apparel, accessories and a broad selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding, and in-line skating. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value score of ‘A’. Also, the 3–5 year EPS growth rate for the stock is estimated at 12%.

POSCO (PKX - Free Report) , based in Seoul, South Korea, produces and sells steel rolled products and plates in South Korea and internationally. This Zacks Rank #1 company has a 3–5 years EPS growth rate of 5% and a Value score of ‘A’.

Validus Holdings Ltd. is a provider of reinsurance coverage, insurance coverage and insurance linked securities management services worldwide. It has a 3–5 years EPS growth rate of 9%. The stock currently has a Value score of ‘B’ and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

First Bancorp (FBP - Free Report) is a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico. It provides a range of financial products and services to retail, commercial, and institutional clients. This Zacks Rank #1 company’s 3–5 year EPS growth rate is pegged at 12.9%. The stock has a Value score of ‘B’.

TCF Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for TCF National Bank that provides various financial products and services in the U.S. and Canada. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value score of ‘A’. TCF Financial has a 3–5 years EPS growth rate of 8.5%.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your trial to the Research Wizard today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

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