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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.
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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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.
Elekta (EKTAY) is a stock many investors are watching right now. EKTAY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 13.81, while its industry has an average P/E of 32.16. Over the last 12 months, EKTAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 25.06 and as low as 13.49, with a median of 15.99.
Investors should also recognize that EKTAY has a P/B ratio of 2.31. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.27. Within the past 52 weeks, EKTAY's P/B has been as high as 3.47 and as low as 2.23, with a median of 2.76.
Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. EKTAY has a P/S ratio of 1.35. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.94.
Finally, our model also underscores that EKTAY has a P/CF ratio of 10.66. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. EKTAY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 25.45. Within the past 12 months, EKTAY's P/CF has been as high as 14.21 and as low as 10.12, with a median of 11.82.
Another great Medical - Instruments stock you could consider is Tactile Systems Technology (TCMD), which is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.