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Should Value Investors Buy Honda Motor Co. (HMC) 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.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Honda Motor Co. (HMC - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HMC is currently holding a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that HMC has a P/B ratio of 0.63. 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. HMC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.15. Over the past 12 months, HMC's P/B has been as high as 0.66 and as low as 0.44, with a median of 0.55.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. HMC has a P/S ratio of 0.37. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.39.

Finally, we should also recognize that HMC has a P/CF ratio of 5.08. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 6.66. Over the past 52 weeks, HMC's P/CF has been as high as 5.31 and as low as 3.12, with a median of 4.11.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Honda Motor Co.'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 HMC is an impressive value stock right now.

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