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Zacks.com featured highlights include HighPeak Energy, BJ's Restaurants, PRA, AZZ and ADT
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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 3, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are HighPeak Energy, Inc. HPK, BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI, PRA Group, Inc. PRAA, AZZ Inc. AZZ and ADT Inc. ADT.

Pick These 5 Bargain Stocks with Impressive EV-to-EBITDA Ratios

Investors are typically fixated on the price-to-earnings (P/E) strategy while seeking stocks trading at attractive prices. This straightforward, easy-to-calculate ratio is the most preferred among all valuation metrics in the investment toolkit for working out the fair market value of a stock. But even this ubiquitously used valuation metric is not without its pitfalls.

While P/E is by far the most popular equity valuation ratio, a more complicated metric called EV-to-EBITDA does a better job of valuing a firm. Often viewed as a better substitute to P/E, this ratio offers a clearer picture of a company's valuation and its earnings potential.

HighPeak Energy, Inc., BJ's Restaurants, Inc., PRA Group, Inc., AZZ Inc. andADT Inc. are some stocks with attractive EV-to-EBITDA ratios.

Here's Why EV-to-EBITDA Is a Better Option

Also referred to as enterprise multiple, EV-to-EBITDA is the enterprise value (EV) of a stock divided by its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). EV is the sum of a company's market capitalization, its debt and preferred stock minus cash and cash equivalents. In essence, it is the entire value of a company. EBITDA, the other element, gives a clearer picture of a company's profitability by removing the impact of non-cash expenses such as depreciation and amortization that dampen net earnings. It is also often used as a proxy to cash flows.

Typically, the lower the EV-to-EBITDA ratio, the more enticing it is. A low EV-to-EBITDA ratio could indicate that a stock is undervalued. Unlike the P/E ratio, EV-to-EBITDA takes debt on a company's balance sheet into account. For this reason, it is typically used to value acquisition targets. The ratio shows the amount of debt that the acquirer has to bear. Stocks flaunting a low EV-to-EBITDA multiple could be seen as attractive takeover candidates.

P/E can't be used to value a loss-making firm. A firm's earnings are also subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. In contrast, EV-to-EBITDA is harder to manipulate and can be used to value companies that have negative net earnings but are positive on the EBITDA front. EV-to-EBITDA is also a useful tool in measuring the value of firms that are highly leveraged and have a high degree of depreciation. It can also be used to compare companies with different levels of debt.

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