Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Cosan (CZZ) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 Cosan . CZZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 20.95 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 22.92. Over the past year, CZZ's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.95 and as low as 11.94, with a median of 14.16.

CZZ is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.32. 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. CZZ's industry has an average PEG of 1.44 right now. CZZ's PEG has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 0.76, with a median of 0.82, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CZZ's P/B ratio of 1.36. 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 1.66. CZZ's P/B has been as high as 1.36 and as low as 0.44, with a median of 0.77, over the past year.

Finally, our model also underscores that CZZ has a P/CF ratio of 5.09. 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. CZZ's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.05. CZZ's P/CF has been as high as 5.09 and as low as 2.43, with a median of 3.47, all within the past year.

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

Published in