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Should Value Investors Buy Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) 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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ASO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.84. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.35. ASO's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.30 and as low as 5.45, with a median of 7.77, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that ASO has a P/B ratio of 1.54. 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 3.30. Over the past 12 months, ASO's P/B has been as high as 2.32 and as low as 1.18, with a median of 1.73.

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. ASO has a P/S ratio of 0.59. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.87.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Academy Sports and Outdoors'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 ASO is an impressive value stock right now.

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