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.
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 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.
Leggett & Platt (LEG) is a stock many investors are watching right now. LEG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. LEG has a P/S ratio of 0.37. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.48.
Finally, our model also underscores that LEG has a P/CF ratio of 4.78. 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. LEG's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 7.99. Over the past 52 weeks, LEG's P/CF has been as high as 61.65 and as low as 3.05, with a median of 4.80.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Leggett & Platt is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, LEG feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (LEG): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).