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Should Value Investors Buy Crawford & Company (CRD.B) Stock?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Crawford & Company (CRD.B - Free Report) . CRD.B is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.51, which compares to its industry's average of 19.14. Over the last 12 months, CRD.B's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.84 and as low as 8.28, with a median of 10.49.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by 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. CRD.B has a P/S ratio of 0.37. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.76.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CRD.B has a P/CF ratio of 7.45. 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 11.68. CRD.B's P/CF has been as high as 10.96 and as low as 6.40, with a median of 8.46, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Crawford & Company's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, CRD.B looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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