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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 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 Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. (FMS). FMS 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 12.18, while its industry has an average P/E of 31.69. Over the last 12 months, FMS's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.62 and as low as 10.51, with a median of 11.82.
We also note that FMS holds a PEG ratio of 1.02. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. FMS's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.66. FMS's PEG has been as high as 1.15 and as low as 0.71, with a median of 0.89, all within the past year.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. Is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, FMS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).