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Should Value Investors Buy AES (AES) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company to watch right now is AES (AES - Free Report) . AES is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.74. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.18. Over the last 12 months, AES's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.04 and as low as 4.38, with a median of 5.79.

AES is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.51. 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. AES's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.45. Over the last 12 months, AES's PEG has been as high as 1.89 and as low as 0.51, with a median of 1.41.

We should also highlight that AES has a P/B ratio of 1.21. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 2.74. Within the past 52 weeks, AES's P/B has been as high as 2.03 and as low as 0.89, with a median of 1.18.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. AES has a P/S ratio of 0.93. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.67.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that AES has a P/CF ratio of 4.12. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.21. Over the past year, AES's P/CF has been as high as 7.00 and as low as 2.41, with a median of 3.49.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in AES'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, AES looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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