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.
In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.
One stock to keep an eye on is Synchrony Financial (SYF). SYF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.92. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.44. Over the past year, SYF's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.68 and as low as 6.56, with a median of 7.99.
We also note that SYF holds a PEG ratio of 0.78. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. SYF's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.92. Over the last 12 months, SYF's PEG has been as high as 1.31 and as low as 0.75, with a median of 1.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SYF's P/B ratio of 1.76. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 3.13. Over the past year, SYF's P/B has been as high as 1.86 and as low as 1.13, with a median of 1.33.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. SYF has a P/S ratio of 1.18. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.83.
Finally, our model also underscores that SYF has a P/CF ratio of 7.25. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 18.27. Over the past year, SYF's P/CF has been as high as 7.69 and as low as 4.77, with a median of 5.85.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that $Synchrony Financial(SYF-B)$ is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SYF sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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