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Is Reliance Steel (RS) 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Reliance Steel (RS - Free Report) . RS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 13.23 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 16.62. Over the past year, RS's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.05 and as low as 7.26, with a median of 10.50.

Investors should also note that RS holds a PEG ratio of 1.47. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. RS's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.66. Over the last 12 months, RS's PEG has been as high as 1.56 and as low as 0.81, with a median of 1.17.

Finally, our model also underscores that RS has a P/CF ratio of 9.47. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. RS's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 27.49. Over the past 52 weeks, RS's P/CF has been as high as 9.67 and as low as 4.76, with a median of 7.26.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Reliance Steel'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, RS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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