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Is Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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.

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 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.

Sensata Technologies Holding (ST - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ST is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.41 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 17.92. Over the past year, ST's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.18 and as low as 5.38, with a median of 8.83.

Investors will also notice that ST has a PEG ratio of 1.10. 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. ST's industry has an average PEG of 2.18 right now. Over the last 12 months, ST's PEG has been as high as 1.37 and as low as 0.72, with a median of 1.14.

Another notable valuation metric for ST is its P/B ratio of 1.49. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.69. Over the past 12 months, ST's P/B has been as high as 1.93 and as low as 0.91, with a median of 1.51.

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. ST has a P/S ratio of 1.15. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.56.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ST has a P/CF ratio of 7.81. 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. ST's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 18.46. ST's P/CF has been as high as 9.26 and as low as 4.54, with a median of 7.12, 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 Sensata Technologies Holding is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, ST feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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