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Are Investors Undervaluing Peabody Energy (BTU) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Peabody Energy (BTU - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. BTU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value.

Investors should also recognize that BTU has a P/B ratio of 0.97. 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. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.35. Within the past 52 weeks, BTU's P/B has been as high as 1.69 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.22.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. BTU has a P/S ratio of 0.58. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.6.

Finally, our model also underscores that BTU has a P/CF ratio of 2.58. 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. BTU's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 2.80. Within the past 12 months, BTU's P/CF has been as high as 3.90 and as low as 2.40, with a median of 3.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Peabody Energy's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, BTU looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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