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Are Investors Undervaluing Parker-Hannifin (PH) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 value investors might notice is Parker-Hannifin (PH - Free Report) . PH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 20.89 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 21.63. Over the last 12 months, PH's Forward P/E has been as high as 21.11 and as low as 8.83, with a median of 15.33.

We also note that PH holds a PEG ratio of 1.77. 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. PH's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.03. Within the past year, PH's PEG has been as high as 2.08 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.63.

Investors should also recognize that PH has a P/B ratio of 3.97. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 5.61. PH's P/B has been as high as 4.41 and as low as 1.97, with a median of 3.73, over the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that PH has a P/CF ratio of 13.93. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 16.84. Over the past year, PH's P/CF has been as high as 15.31 and as low as 6.94, with a median of 11.90.

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


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