In This Article:
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 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 value investors might notice is DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH). DRH is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.56 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.94. Over the past year, DRH's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.15 and as low as 7.69, with a median of 8.72.
We should also highlight that DRH has a P/B ratio of 1.11. 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 1.75. DRH's P/B has been as high as 1.25 and as low as 0.99, with a median of 1.12, over the past year.
Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. DRH has a P/S ratio of 1.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 4.2.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that DRH has a P/CF ratio of 10.09. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.82. Within the past 12 months, DRH's P/CF has been as high as 11.08 and as low as 8.71, with a median of 9.91.