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, 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.
One company value investors might notice is Urban Outfitters (URBN). URBN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 13.05, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.94. Over the last 12 months, URBN's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.49 and as low as 9.10, with a median of 12.80.
Investors should also recognize that URBN has a P/B ratio of 2.48. 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 6.42. URBN's P/B has been as high as 2.97 and as low as 1.40, with a median of 2.14, over the past year.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that URBN has a P/CF ratio of 10.93. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 14.29. Within the past 12 months, URBN's P/CF has been as high as 12.80 and as low as 7.56, with a median of 10.42.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Urban Outfitters's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, URBN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).