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

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is China Eastern (CEA - Free Report) . CEA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that CEA has a P/B ratio of 1.04. 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. CEA's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.57. CEA's P/B has been as high as 1.37 and as low as 0.81, with a median of 0.98, over the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. CEA has a P/S ratio of 0.55. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.66.

Finally, our model also underscores that CEA has a P/CF ratio of 3.83. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.74. Within the past 12 months, CEA's P/CF has been as high as 4.38 and as low as 2.66, with a median of 3.55.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in China Eastern'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 CEA is an impressive value stock right now.


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