Should Value Investors Buy Central Garden & Pet (CENTA) Stock?

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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. 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.

Central Garden & Pet (CENTA Quick QuoteCENTA – Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. CENTA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock’s price with the company’s revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. CENTA has a P/S ratio of 0.66. This compares to its industry’s average P/S of 0.73.

Finally, our model also underscores that CENTA has a P/CF ratio of 9.31. 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 stock’s P/CF looks attractive against its industry’s average P/CF of 35.76. CENTA’s P/CF has been as high as 11.47 and as low as 8.60, with a median of 9.52, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Central Garden & Pet’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 CENTA is an impressive value stock right now.