Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing L Brands (LB) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

L Brands is a stock many investors are watching right now. LB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.64, while its industry has an average P/E of 13.11. LB's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.98 and as low as 9.07, with a median of 11.86, all within the past year.

Investors should also note that LB holds a PEG ratio of 0.97. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LB's industry has an average PEG of 1.13 right now. Within the past year, LB's PEG has been as high as 1.39 and as low as 0.82, with a median of 1.03.

Finally, our model also underscores that LB has a P/CF ratio of 6.05. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 7.79. Over the past year, LB's P/CF has been as high as 10.32 and as low as 5.07, with a median of 6.71.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that L Brands is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, LB feels like a great value stock at the moment.

Published in