Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.
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.
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.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is a stock many investors are watching right now. ADM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.06. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.08. Over the past year, ADM's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.96 and as low as 8.96, with a median of 10.98.
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. ADM has a P/S ratio of 0.28. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.71.
Finally, we should also recognize that ADM has a P/CF ratio of 8.45. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.29. Within the past 12 months, ADM's P/CF has been as high as 9.85 and as low as 6.13, with a median of 7.99.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Archer Daniels Midland is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, ADM feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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