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Are Investors Undervaluing Carnival (CCL) 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, 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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 value investors might notice is Carnival (CCL - Free Report) . CCL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.73. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.20. Over the last 12 months, CCL's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.18 and as low as 9, with a median of 10.61.

We also note that CCL holds a PEG ratio of 1.12. 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. CCL's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.72. Over the past 52 weeks, CCL's PEG has been as high as 1.31 and as low as 0.77, with a median of 1.02.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CCL's P/B ratio of 0.93. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.32. CCL's P/B has been as high as 1.27 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.03, 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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. CCL has a P/S ratio of 1.1. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.22.

Finally, our model also underscores that CCL has a P/CF ratio of 6.03. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 9.15. Over the past year, CCL's P/CF has been as high as 7.96 and as low as 5.36, with a median of 6.54.

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


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