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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
One company value investors might notice is Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN). DFIN is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 17.45, while its industry has an average P/E of 23.45. DFIN's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.33 and as low as 13.56, with a median of 16.54, all within the past year.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is DFIN's P/B ratio of 3.38. 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 3.89. DFIN's P/B has been as high as 4.59 and as low as 2.52, with a median of 3.89, over the past year.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. DFIN has a P/S ratio of 1.25. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.28.
Finally, investors should note that DFIN has a P/CF ratio of 9.90. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 16.34. Within the past 12 months, DFIN's P/CF has been as high as 12.80 and as low as 7.09, with a median of 10.59.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Donnelley Financial Solutions is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, DFIN feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).