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Should Value Investors Buy Progress Software (PRGS) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Progress Software (PRGS - Free Report) . PRGS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.46 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 22.33. Over the last 12 months, PRGS's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.46 and as low as 7.37, with a median of 10.95.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PRGS's P/B ratio of 4. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 6.03. Over the past year, PRGS's P/B has been as high as 7.05 and as low as 3.95, with a median of 5.89.

Finally, we should also recognize that PRGS has a P/CF ratio of 9.86. 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. PRGS's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 16.07. Over the past 52 weeks, PRGS's P/CF has been as high as 18.02 and as low as 9.74, with a median of 14.83.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Progress Software is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, PRGS sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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