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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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 to watch right now is Standard Motor Products (SMP). SMP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.64, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.24. SMP's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.50 and as low as 5.89, with a median of 8.90, all within the past year.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SMP's P/B ratio of 1.23. 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 stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.86. SMP's P/B has been as high as 1.28 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 1.04, over the past year.
Finally, we should also recognize that SMP has a P/CF ratio of 11.11. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. SMP's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 11.41. Within the past 12 months, SMP's P/CF has been as high as 11.69 and as low as 7.21, with a median of 10.29.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Standard Motor Products is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, SMP feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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Standard Motor Products, Inc. (SMP): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).