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Is Fresenius (FMS) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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.

One company to watch right now is Fresenius (FMS - Free Report) . FMS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.45, while its industry has an average P/E of 30.26. Over the past year, FMS's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.97 and as low as 11.91, with a median of 14.88.

Investors should also note that FMS holds a PEG ratio of 2.12. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. FMS's industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.46. Over the past 52 weeks, FMS's PEG has been as high as 2.78 and as low as 1.33, with a median of 2.23.

We should also highlight that FMS has a P/B ratio of 1.35. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.45. FMS's P/B has been as high as 2.19 and as low as 1.25, with a median of 1.57, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. FMS has a P/S ratio of 1.03. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.92.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that FMS has a P/CF ratio of 7.27. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. FMS's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 18.86. Over the past 52 weeks, FMS's P/CF has been as high as 10.08 and as low as 5.99, with a median of 7.57.

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


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