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Should Value Investors Buy Park-Ohio (PKOH) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Park-Ohio (PKOH - Free Report) . PKOH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PKOH's P/B ratio of 0.82. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PKOH's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.74. Over the past 12 months, PKOH's P/B has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 0.59, with a median of 0.92.

Finally, we should also recognize that PKOH has a P/CF ratio of 4.93. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. PKOH's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 9.82. Within the past 12 months, PKOH's P/CF has been as high as 8.92 and as low as 3.56, with a median of 4.87.

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

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