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.
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 Imperial Tobacco Group (LON:IMB) PLC (IMBBY). IMBBY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.79, which compares to its industry's average of 13.09. IMBBY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.65 and as low as 7.70, with a median of 9.54, all within the past year.
We also note that IMBBY holds a PEG ratio of 1.49. 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. IMBBY's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.69. IMBBY's PEG has been as high as 3.67 and as low as 1.31, with a median of 3.31, all within the past year.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, IMBBY sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMBBY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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