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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.
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 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.
One stock to keep an eye on is Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, B. de C.V. (VLRS). VLRS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.96, while its industry has an average P/E of 17.53. Over the past 52 weeks, VLRS's Forward P/E has been as high as 89.09 and as low as -21.98, with a median of 10.18.
Another notable valuation metric for VLRS is its P/B ratio of 3.13. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 4.94. VLRS's P/B has been as high as 6.43 and as low as 2.19, with a median of 3.25, over the past year.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. VLRS has a P/S ratio of 0.28. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.53.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, B. de C.V. Is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, VLRS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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