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Should Value Investors Buy Evertec (EVTC) 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.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 value investors might notice is Evertec (EVTC - Free Report) . EVTC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.42, which compares to its industry's average of 18.65. Over the last 12 months, EVTC's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.49 and as low as 9.26, with a median of 10.35.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is EVTC's P/B ratio of 3.5. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 8.24. Over the past year, EVTC's P/B has been as high as 5.07 and as low as 3.41, with a median of 4.27.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. EVTC has a P/S ratio of 1.82. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.86.

Finally, we should also recognize that EVTC has a P/CF ratio of 8.19. 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 13.83. Over the past 52 weeks, EVTC's P/CF has been as high as 11.11 and as low as 7.89, with a median of 8.96.

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

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