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Are Investors Undervaluing Quanta Services (PWR) 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

Quanta Services (PWR - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. PWR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 11.08, which compares to its industry's average of 14.01. Over the past year, PWR's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.02 and as low as 8.48, with a median of 10.40.

Investors will also notice that PWR has a PEG ratio of 0.76. 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. PWR's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.21. Over the past 52 weeks, PWR's PEG has been as high as 1.42 and as low as 0.76, with a median of 1.31.

Investors should also recognize that PWR has a P/B ratio of 1.54. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PWR's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.11. Over the past year, PWR's P/B has been as high as 1.59 and as low as 1.09, with a median of 1.42.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. PWR has a P/S ratio of 0.49. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.68.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that PWR has a P/CF ratio of 10.23. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. PWR's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 17.52. Over the past year, PWR's P/CF has been as high as 10.59 and as low as 7.26, with a median of 9.26.

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


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