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Is Marubeni (MARUY) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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 to watch right now is Marubeni (MARUY - Free Report) . MARUY is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.93. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.67. Over the last 12 months, MARUY's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.91 and as low as 7.26, with a median of 8.39.

We should also highlight that MARUY has a P/B ratio of 1.58. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.16. Over the past 12 months, MARUY's P/B has been as high as 1.58 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.12.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. MARUY has a P/S ratio of 0.89. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.05.

Mitsubishi (MSBHF - Free Report) may be another strong Diversified Operations stock to add to your shortlist. MSBHF is a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Furthermore, Mitsubishi holds a P/B ratio of 1.44 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.16. MSBHF's P/B has been as high as 1.44, as low as 0.64, with a median of 1.10 over the past 12 months.

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

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