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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.
One company to watch right now is Sonoco (SON). SON is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 7.60, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.53. Over the last 12 months, SON's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.34 and as low as 7.32, with a median of 9.80.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. SON has a P/S ratio of 0.75. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.92.
Finally, our model also underscores that SON has a P/CF ratio of 8.52. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. SON's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 23.99. Within the past 12 months, SON's P/CF has been as high as 9.02 and as low as 6.61, with a median of 7.67.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Sonoco is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SON sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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Sonoco Products Company (SON) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).