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Is AES (AES) Stock Undervalued 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 value investors might notice is AES (AES - Free Report) . AES 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 10.59, which compares to its industry's average of 13.90. Over the past 52 weeks, AES's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.65 and as low as 10.19, with a median of 11.92.

Investors will also notice that AES has a PEG ratio of 1.25. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AES's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.26. Over the last 12 months, AES's PEG has been as high as 1.75 and as low as 1.18, with a median of 1.42.

Another notable valuation metric for AES is its P/B ratio of 1.80. 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 1.92. Within the past 52 weeks, AES's P/B has been as high as 2.18 and as low as 1.53, with a median of 1.89.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. AES has a P/S ratio of 0.96. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.2.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that AES is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, AES feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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