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Is China Eastern (CEA) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader 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.

One company to watch right now is China Eastern (CEA - Free Report) . CEA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

We should also highlight that CEA has a P/B ratio of 0.99. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. CEA's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.65. Within the past 52 weeks, CEA's P/B has been as high as 1.50 and as low as 0.81, with a median of 0.98.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. CEA has a P/S ratio of 0.54. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.72.

Finally, investors should note that CEA has a P/CF ratio of 3.65. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. CEA's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 5.98. Over the past 52 weeks, CEA's P/CF has been as high as 4.38 and as low as 2.66, with a median of 3.55.

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


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