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 Changyou.com Limited CYOU 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, Changyou has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 4.15, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 18.43. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Changyou’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 10.15 over the past five years, with the number having risen rapidly over the past few months. However, the current level stands below the highs for the stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point.
Moreover, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Computer and Technology Market sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 22.48. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Changyou has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 5.04, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near 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, Changyou has a P/S ratio of about 1.03 This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.25 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.