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Is Lithia Motors (LAD) a Great Value Stock 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is Lithia Motors (LAD - Free Report) . LAD is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

LAD is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.95. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. LAD's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.45. Over the last 12 months, LAD's PEG has been as high as 1.53 and as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.92.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. LAD has a P/S ratio of 0.25. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.26.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Lithia Motors'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 LAD is an impressive value stock right now.


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