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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
One company value investors might notice is Sumitomo (SSUMY). SSUMY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 6.90, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.53. Over the last 12 months, SSUMY's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.61 and as low as 6.72, with a median of 7.79.
Investors will also notice that SSUMY has a PEG ratio of 0.61. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. SSUMY's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.72. Within the past year, SSUMY's PEG has been as high as 8.27 and as low as 0.40, with a median of 0.61.
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. SSUMY has a P/S ratio of 0.55. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.03.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that SSUMY has a P/CF ratio of 6.70. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 12.71. Over the past 52 weeks, SSUMY's P/CF has been as high as 11.36 and as low as 6.33, with a median of 7.32.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Sumitomo's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that SSUMY is an impressive value stock right now.