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Should Value Investors Buy DaVita (DVA) Stock?

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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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is DaVita (DVA - Free Report) . DVA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 11.23, while its industry has an average P/E of 19.52. Over the past year, DVA's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.44 and as low as 10.72, with a median of 13.37.

We also note that DVA holds a PEG ratio of 0.88. 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. DVA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.06. DVA's PEG has been as high as 1.09 and as low as 0.69, with a median of 0.86, all within the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. DVA has a P/S ratio of 0.75. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.62.

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


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