The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.
Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.
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 company to watch right now is Mercury General (MCY – Free Report) . MCY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.66 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 28.79. Over the last 12 months, MCY’s Forward P/E has been as high as 21.32 and as low as -48.70, with a median of 14.79.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can’t really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MCY has a P/S ratio of 0.67. This compares to its industry’s average P/S of 1.21.
Finally, investors should note that MCY has a P/CF ratio of 5.85. This metric takes into account a company’s operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This company’s current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry’s average P/CF of 7.98. Within the past 12 months, MCY’s P/CF has been as high as 17.06 and as low as -69.96, with a median of 9.38.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Mercury General’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 MCY is an impressive value stock right now.
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