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Zacks.com featured highlights include: Mosaic, Korea Electric, BBX, Genesco and Textron

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 14, 2019 - Stocks in this week’s article are The Mosaic Company (MOS), Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP - Free Report) , BBX Capital Corp. , Genesco Inc. (GCO - Free Report) and Textron Inc. (TXT - Free Report) .

5 Value Stocks with Exciting EV/EBITDA Ratios

Price-to-earnings (P/E), without a shadow of a doubt, is the most popular metric used by investors to work out the fair value of a stock. Many prefer to take the P/E route in their quest for stocks that are trading at a discount. But even this universally used valuation multiple is not without its flaws.

Why EV/EBITDA is a Better Choice?

Although P/E enjoys great popularity among value investors, a more complicated metric called EV/EBITDA is sometimes viewed as a better alternative. EV/EBITDA gives the true picture of a company’s valuation and its earning potential. Moreover, it has a more complete approach to valuation.

Also known as the enterprise multiple, EV/EBITDA is essentially the enterprise value (EV) of a stock divided by its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). The first constituent of the ratio, EV, is a firm’s market capitalization plus the market value of its debt and preferred equity minus cash.

The other element of the ratio, EBITDA, is a true reflection of a company’s profitability as it eliminates non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization that dilute net earnings. It is also often used as a proxy for cash flows.

Just like P/E, the lower the EV/EBITDA ratio, the more appealing it is. A low EV/EBITDA ratio could imply that a stock is potentially undervalued and vice versa.

While P/E just considers a firm’s equity portion, EV/EBITDA determines its total value. Unlike the P/E ratio, EV/EBITDA takes debt on a company’s balance sheet into consideration. This is also the reason why EV/EBITDA is commonly used to value likely acquisition targets. The ratio shows the amount of debt that the acquirer has to bear. Stocks with a low EV/EBITDA multiple could be seen as attractive takeover candidates.

Another flaw of P/E is that it can’t be used to value a loss-making entity. A firm’s earnings are also subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. In contrast, EV/EBITDA is harder to manipulate and can also be used to value companies that have negative net earnings but are positive on the EBITDA front.

EV/EBITDA is also a useful tool in measuring the value of firms with a debt-laden balance sheet and have a high degree of depreciation. It also allows the comparison of companies with different debt levels.

However, EV/EBITDA is also not without its shortcomings and it alone can’t conclusively determine a stock’s inherent potential and its future performance. The multiple varies across industries (a high-growth industry typically has higher multiple) and is generally not appropriate for comparing stocks in different industries due to their diverse capital requirements.

Thus, a strategy solely based on EV/EBITDA might not fetch the desired outcome.  But you can combine it with the other major ratios in your stock investing toolbox such as price-to-book (P/B), P/E and price-to-sales (P/S) to uncover value stocks.

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/354110/5-value-stocks-with-exciting-evebitda-ratios-to-scoop-up

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

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