We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Encore Wire (WIRE) a Worthy Pick For Value Investors?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Encore Wire has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.76, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 18.1. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Encore Wire’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Industrial Products-Services sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 19.23. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Encore Wire has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 14.58, which is higher than the current level. So, it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near term.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, Encore Wire has a P/S ratio of about 0.96. This is a lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.3x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Encore Wire currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Encore Wire a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Encore Wire might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of A and a Momentum Score of B. This gives WIRE a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been upbeat. The current quarter has seen one estimate go up with no downward movement. For the full year, the estimate has seen one upward revision in the same time period with no movement in the opposite direction.
This has had an impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has increased 9.5% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has risen 22.7%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
This positive trend signifies bullish analyst sentiment, and its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) indicates robust fundamentals and expectations of outperformance in the near term.
Bottom Line
Encore Wire is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Further, a strong industry rank (among Top 5% of more than 250 industries) and Zacks Rank#1 boosts our confidence.
However, over the past two years, the Zacks Wire & Cable Products industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
We believe, despite an unsatisfactory past industry performance, a good industry and Zacks rank signal that the stock is likely to benefit from favorable broader factors in the immediate future. Add to this robust value metrics, and we believe that we have a strong value contender in Encore Wire.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
Image: Bigstock
Is Encore Wire (WIRE) a Worthy Pick For Value Investors?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Encore Wire has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.76, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 18.1. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Encore Wire’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Industrial Products-Services sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 19.23. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Encore Wire has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 14.58, which is higher than the current level. So, it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near term.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, Encore Wire has a P/S ratio of about 0.96. This is a lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.3x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Encore Wire currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Encore Wire a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Encore Wire might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of A and a Momentum Score of B. This gives WIRE a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been upbeat. The current quarter has seen one estimate go up with no downward movement. For the full year, the estimate has seen one upward revision in the same time period with no movement in the opposite direction.
This has had an impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has increased 9.5% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has risen 22.7%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
Encore Wire Corporation Price and Consensus
Encore Wire Corporation Price and Consensus | Encore Wire Corporation Quote
This positive trend signifies bullish analyst sentiment, and its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) indicates robust fundamentals and expectations of outperformance in the near term.
Bottom Line
Encore Wire is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Further, a strong industry rank (among Top 5% of more than 250 industries) and Zacks Rank#1 boosts our confidence.
However, over the past two years, the Zacks Wire & Cable Products industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
We believe, despite an unsatisfactory past industry performance, a good industry and Zacks rank signal that the stock is likely to benefit from favorable broader factors in the immediate future. Add to this robust value metrics, and we believe that we have a strong value contender in Encore Wire.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
See their latest picks free >>