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Are Investors Undervaluing CF Industries (CF) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 value investors might notice is CF Industries (CF - Free Report) . CF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 15.85, which compares to its industry's average of 15.94. CF's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.16 and as low as 11.10, with a median of 14.14, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that CF has a P/B ratio of 2.33. 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 2.52. CF's P/B has been as high as 2.38 and as low as 1.57, with a median of 1.88, over the past year.

Finally, our model also underscores that CF has a P/CF ratio of 7.60. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 17.19. Within the past 12 months, CF's P/CF has been as high as 8.02 and as low as 5.19, with a median of 7.04.

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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