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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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company to watch right now is PLDT (PHI). PHI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.29. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.40. Over the past year, PHI's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.14 and as low as 7.06, with a median of 8.49.
Finally, our model also underscores that PHI has a P/CF ratio of 2.92. 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. PHI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 4.43. Over the past year, PHI's P/CF has been as high as 4.05 and as low as 2.88, with a median of 3.34.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that PLDT is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, PHI sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).