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, 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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 stock to keep an eye on is Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (PDM). PDM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.36, while its industry has an average P/E of 16.23. Over the past 52 weeks, PDM's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.42 and as low as 4.06, with a median of 5.54.
Another notable valuation metric for PDM is its P/B ratio of 0.72. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 1.91. Within the past 52 weeks, PDM's P/B has been as high as 0.84 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 0.63.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PDM has a P/S ratio of 1.98. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.94.
Finally, investors should note that PDM has a P/CF ratio of 7.02. 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 14.93. Within the past 12 months, PDM's P/CF has been as high as 8.83 and as low as 4.29, with a median of 6.18.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc.'s great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that PDM is an impressive value stock right now.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (PDM): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).