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Are Investors Undervaluing Lear (LEA) Right Now?

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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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Lear (LEA - Free Report) . LEA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.87, while its industry has an average P/E of 18.92. Over the last 12 months, LEA's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.32 and as low as 5.65, with a median of 7.13.

We also note that LEA holds a PEG ratio of 0.75. 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. LEA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.01. Within the past year, LEA's PEG has been as high as 0.77 and as low as 0.34, with a median of 0.47.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. LEA has a P/S ratio of 0.27. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.7.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Lear's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that LEA is an impressive value stock right now.

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