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Is BGC Partners (BGCP) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 stock to keep an eye on is BGC Partners . BGCP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.41 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.93. BGCP's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.62 and as low as 7.39, with a median of 9.37, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is BGCP's P/B ratio of 2.40. 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 stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.54. Over the past year, BGCP's P/B has been as high as 5.46 and as low as 2.07, with a median of 3.40.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that BGCP has a P/CF ratio of 18.99. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. BGCP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 21.91. Within the past 12 months, BGCP's P/CF has been as high as 21.28 and as low as 14.07, with a median of 16.94.

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