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Are Investors Undervaluing Arch Coal (ARCH) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 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.

Arch Coal (ARCH - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ARCH is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.71, which compares to its industry's average of 8.12. Over the past year, ARCH's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.97 and as low as 5.40, with a median of 6.77.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCH is its P/B ratio of 2.19. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 4.20. Within the past 52 weeks, ARCH's P/B has been as high as 2.89 and as low as 2.07, with a median of 2.34.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. ARCH has a P/S ratio of 0.61. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.31.

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


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