The stock market encountered a momentary halt on Monday as key indices retreated after strong gains in recent weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, which reached record highs on Friday, faced downward pressure from rising Treasury yields and investor concerns over high valuations and future rate cuts. This cautious sentiment arises as investors prepare for a crucial earnings week, with major S&P 500 companies like Tesla, Inc. TSLA and The Coca-Cola Company KO set to report their results.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.18% to close at 5,853.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a more substantial decline, dropping 344.31 points or 0.80%, to settle at 42,931.60. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite managed to break the trend, registering a modest gain of 0.27%, up 50.45 points, to finish at 18,540.01.
As the market took a breather, investors are advised to remain vigilant, keeping an eye on both corporate earnings and the evolving political landscape. In this environment, value stocks stand out as a compelling investment option. Trading below their intrinsic value, these stocks offer a margin of safety during market fluctuations.
When evaluating value stocks, one of the most effective valuation metrics is the Price to Cash Flow (P/CF) ratio. Companies like JD.com, Inc. JD and KB Home KBH boast a low P/CF ratio. The P/CF ratio evaluates the market price of a stock relative to the amount of cash flow that the company is generating on a per-share basis — the lower the number, the better.
Price to Cash Flow Reflects Financial Health
Value investing is considered one of the best practices when it comes to picking stocks. It is essentially about selecting stocks that are fundamentally sound but have been beaten down by some external factors. Such stocks are poised to bounce back as and when investors recognize the inherent value of companies. Certainly, the value investment strategy best suits investors with a long-term horizon.
There are different valuation metrics to determine a stock’s inherent strength. Still, a random selection of a ratio cannot serve your purpose if you want a realistic assessment of a company’s financial position. For this, the Price to Cash Flow (or P/CF) ratio is one of the key metrics.
Price-to-Cash-Flow metric evaluates the market price of a stock relative to the amount of cash flow that the company is generating on a per-share basis — the lower the number, the better. One of the important factors that makes P/CF a highly dependable metric is that operating cash flow adds back non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization to net income, truly diagnosing a company's financial health.
Analysts caution that a company’s earnings are subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. However, cash flow is reliable. Net cash flow unveils how much money a company is actually generating and how effectively management is deploying the same.
Positive cash flow indicates an increase in a company’s liquid assets. It gives the company the means to settle debt, meet its expenses, reinvest in its business, endure downturns and finally pay back its shareholders. Negative cash flow implies a decline in the company’s liquidity, which in turn lowers its flexibility to support these moves.
What’s the Best Value Investing Strategy?
An investment decision based solely on the P/CF metric may not yield the desired results. To identify stocks that are trading at a discount, you should expand your search criteria and also consider the price-to-book ratio, price-to-earnings ratio, and price-to-sales ratio. Adding a favorable Zacks Rank and a Value Score of A or B to your search criteria should lead to even better results as these eliminate the chance of falling into a value trap.
Here are the parameters for selecting true-value stocks:
P/CF less than or equal to X-Industry Median.
Price greater than or equal to 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.
Average 20-Day Volume greater than 100,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.
P/E using (F1) less than or equal to X-Industry Median: This parameter shortlists stocks that are trading at a discount or are equal to their peers.
P/B less than or equal to X-Industry Median: A lower P/B compared with the industry average implies that there is enough room for the stock to gain.
P/S less than or equal to X-Industry Median: The P/S ratio determines how a stock price compares to the company’s sales — the lower the ratio the more attractive the stock is.
PEG less than 1: The ratio is used to determine a stock's value by taking the company's earnings growth into account. The PEG ratio gives a more complete picture than the P/E ratio. A value of less than 1 indicates that the stock is undervalued and that investors need to pay less for a stock that has robust earnings growth prospects.
Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.
Value Score of less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Style Score of A or B, when combined with Zacks Rank #1 or 2, offer the best upside potential.
Here are two stocks that qualified the screening:
JD.com, a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 24%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JD’s current financial year sales and earnings per share (EPS) suggests growth of 4.7% and 27.2%, respectively, from the year-ago period. JD has a Value Score of A. Shares of JD have surged 60% in the past year.
KB Home, one of the largest and most recognized homebuilders in the United States, carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.8%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KB Home's current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 7.6% and 19.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period. KBH has a Value Score of A. Shares of KBH have rallied 87.7% in the past year.
Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.
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