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.
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.
One stock to keep an eye on is Devon Energy (DVN). DVN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.90, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.07. Over the last 12 months, DVN's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.82 and as low as 6.27, with a median of 7.89.
Another valuation metric that we should highlight is DVN's P/B ratio of 1.75. 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 3.27. DVN's P/B has been as high as 2.79 and as low as 1.38, with a median of 2.19, over the past year.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. DVN has a P/S ratio of 1.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.07.
Finally, our model also underscores that DVN has a P/CF ratio of 3.79. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.18. Within the past 12 months, DVN's P/CF has been as high as 5.74 and as low as 3, with a median of 4.45.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Devon Energy'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 DVN is an impressive value stock right now.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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