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Are Investors Undervaluing Penske Automotive (PAG) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) . PAG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.12, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.43. PAG's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.95 and as low as 3.82, with a median of 8.85, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PAG's P/B ratio of 1.40. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PAG's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.50. Within the past 52 weeks, PAG's P/B has been as high as 1.66 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 1.35.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. PAG has a P/S ratio of 0.19. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.3.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that PAG has a P/CF ratio of 9.12. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 11.41. Over the past 52 weeks, PAG's P/CF has been as high as 9.12 and as low as 3.17, with a median of 7.09.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Penske Automotive is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, PAG feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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