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Should Value Investors Buy Imperial Tobacco Group (IMBBY) 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Imperial Tobacco Group (IMBBY - Free Report) . IMBBY is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.40 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.83. IMBBY's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.53 and as low as 6.03, with a median of 7.04, all within the past year.

We also note that IMBBY holds a PEG ratio of 1.03. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. IMBBY's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.76. Within the past year, IMBBY's PEG has been as high as 1.15 and as low as 0.73, with a median of 0.82.

Investors should also recognize that IMBBY has a P/B ratio of 3.99. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 6.94. IMBBY's P/B has been as high as 4.56 and as low as 3.10, with a median of 3.62, over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Imperial Tobacco Group's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, IMBBY looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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