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7 Promising Low Price-to-Sales Stocks for Good Returns

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When considering valuation metrics, Price-to-Earnings ratio has always been the obvious choice as calculations based on earnings are easy and come in handy. However, Price-to-Sales has emerged as a convenient tool to determine the value of stocks that are incurring losses or are in an early cycle of development, generating meager or no profits.

A stock’s Price-to-Sales ratio reflects how much investors are paying for each dollar of revenues generated by the company.

If the Price-to-Sales ratio is 1, it means that investors are paying $1 for every $1 of revenues generated by the company. So, it goes without saying that a stock with Price-to-Sales below 1 is a good bargain, as investors need to pay less than a dollar for a dollar’s worth.  

Thus, a stock with a lower Price-to-Sales ratio is a more suitable investment versus a stock with a high Price-to-Sales ratio.

Price-to-Sales is often preferred over Price-to-Earnings as companies can manipulate their earnings using various accounting measures. However, sales are harder to manipulate and are relatively reliable.

While a loss-making company with a negative Price-to-Earnings ratio falls out of investor favor, its Price-to-Sales could indicate the hidden strength of its business. This underrated ratio is also used to identify a recovery situation or ensure that a company's growth is not overvalued.

However, one should keep in mind that a company with high debt and low Price-to-Sales is not an ideal choice. The high debt level will have to be paid off at some point, leading to further share issuance and a rise in market cap and ultimately a higher Price-to-Sales ratio.

In any case, the Price-to-Sales ratio used in isolation can’t do the trick. One should also analyze other ratios like Price/Earnings, Price/Book and Debt/Equity before arriving at any investment decision.

Screening Parameters

Price to Sales less than Median Price to Sales for its Industry: The lower the Price-to-Sales ratio, the better.

Price to Earnings using F(1) estimate less than Median Price to Earnings for its Industry: The lower, the better.

Price to Book (common Equity) less than Median Price to Book for its Industry: This is another parameter to ensure the value feature of a stock.

Debt to Equity (Most Recent) less than Median Debt to Equity for its Industry: A company with less debt should have a stable Price-to-Sales ratio.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank less than or equal to #2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.

Value Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Value Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 offer the best opportunities in the value investing space.

Here are seven of the 29 stocks that qualified the screening:

Shoe Carnival Inc. (SCVL - Free Report) is a family footwear retailer in the United States. It sells dress, casual, and athletic footwear products for men, women, and children, as well as accessories, including socks, belts, shoe care items, handbags, sport bags, backpacks, jewelry, scarves, and wallets. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A. The 3–5 year EPS growth rate for the stock is estimated at 12%.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal (MT - Free Report) is the world’s leading steel and mining company. With a presence in more than 60 countries, it operates a balanced portfolio of cost competitive steel plants across both the developed and developing world. This Zacks Rank #2 company has a 3–5 years EPS growth rate of 13.4% and a Value Score of A.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. (CFG - Free Report) is a bank holding company for Citizens Bank, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania that provides retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. This Zacks Rank #2 company’s 3–5 year EPS growth rate is 17.9%. The stock has a Value Score of B.

Hitachi Ltd. (HTHIY - Free Report) produces sells, and services information and telecommunication systems, power systems, social infrastructure and industrial systems, electronic systems and equipment, construction machinery, functional materials and components, automotive systems, and smart life and eco-friendly systems worldwide. It has a 3–5 year EPS growth rate of 13%. The stock has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen AG manufactures and sells automobiles in Europe, North America, South America, and the Asia Pacific. This Zacks Rank #2 company has a 3–5 years EPS growth rate of 18.7% and a Value Score of A.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC - Free Report) is a producer and seller of capital equipment and expendable tools to assemble semiconductor devices. The company extends its services to semiconductor device manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers, other electronics manufacturers, and automotive electronics suppliers in the United States and the Asia/Pacific region. This Zacks Rank #1 company has a 3–5 year EPS growth rate of 12%. The stock has a Value Score of B.

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBX - Free Report) is a manufacturer and seller of railroad freight car equipment in North America and Europe. This Zacks Rank #2 company’s 3–5 year EPS growth rate is 9.5%. The stock has a Value Score of B.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your trial to the Research Wizard today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.


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