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Should Value Investors Buy Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 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.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Sensata Technologies Holding (ST - Free Report) . ST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.88 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 18.10. Over the past 52 weeks, ST's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.14 and as low as 5.38, with a median of 8.77.

Investors should also note that ST holds a PEG ratio of 1.16. 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. ST's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.13. 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 1.13.

We should also highlight that ST has a P/B ratio of 1.58. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.76. Over the past year, ST's P/B has been as high as 1.85 and as low as 0.91, with a median of 1.50.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. ST has a P/S ratio of 1.29. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.4.

Finally, our model also underscores that ST has a P/CF ratio of 8.32. 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 19.57. ST's P/CF has been as high as 8.92 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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