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Is Post Holdings (POST) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 Post Holdings (POST - Free Report) . POST is currently holding a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.96, which compares to its industry's average of 16.53. Over the past 52 weeks, POST's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.52 and as low as 13.80, with a median of 16.90.

Investors should also recognize that POST has a P/B ratio of 1.56. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. POST's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.87. Within the past 52 weeks, POST's P/B has been as high as 1.75 and as low as 1.51, with a median of 1.65.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. POST has a P/S ratio of 0.76. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.1.

Finally, we should also recognize that POST has a P/CF ratio of 8.00. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.22. Within the past 12 months, POST's P/CF has been as high as 9.41 and as low as 7.78, with a median of 8.49.

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


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