Should Value Investors Consider AK Steel Holding (AKS) A Great Pick

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, AK Steel Holding has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 8.90, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 20.34. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, AK Steel Holding’s current PE level puts it above its midpoint over the past five years.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified Steel Producers industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 9.05. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that AK Steel Holding has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 9.72, so it is fair to say that the stock price might appreciate in future.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, AK Steel Holding has a P/S ratio of about 0.36. This is a bit lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.16 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years, suggesting some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, AK Steel Holding currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of ‘A’, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes AK Steel Holding a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though AK Steel Holding might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of ‘A’ and a Momentum score of ‘B’. This gives AKS a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘A’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been discouraging. The current quarter has seen one estimate going higher in the past sixty days compared to two lower, while the full year estimate has seen one upward and four downward movements in the same time period.

This had a significant impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has fallen by 18.7% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has gone lower by 9%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

AK Steel Holding Corporation Price and Consensus

AK Steel Holding Corporation Price and Consensus | AK Steel Holding Corporation Quote

This bearish trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

AK Steel Holding is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (Bottom 24% out of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Steel producers industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and broader factors to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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