Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy Mistras Group (MG) Stock?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

Mistras Group (MG - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MG is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.37 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 30.78. Over the last 12 months, MG's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.78 and as low as 8.93, with a median of 11.00.

Investors should also note that MG holds a PEG ratio of 0.77. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MG's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.21. Within the past year, MG's PEG has been as high as 0.86 and as low as 0.56, with a median of 0.68.

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. MG has a P/S ratio of 0.75. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.96.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Mistras Group'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 MG is an impressive value stock right now.

Published in