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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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
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.
Murata Manufacturing (MRAAY) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MRAAY 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 10.33, which compares to its industry's average of 25.18. Over the last 12 months, MRAAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 24.74 and as low as 10.32, with a median of 15.79.
We should also highlight that MRAAY has a P/B ratio of 1.74. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 5.11. Within the past 52 weeks, MRAAY's P/B has been as high as 2.72 and as low as 1.70, with a median of 2.13.
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. MRAAY has a P/S ratio of 2.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.04.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that MRAAY has a P/CF ratio of 11.75. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. MRAAY's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 35.69. Within the past 12 months, MRAAY's P/CF has been as high as 18.05 and as low as 11.70, with a median of 14.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Murata Manufacturing's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, MRAAY looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.