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Are Investors Undervaluing Carriage Services (CSV) 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.

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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Carriage Services (CSV - Free Report) . CSV 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 11.83, while its industry has an average P/E of 16.32. Over the past year, CSV's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.96 and as low as 8.20, with a median of 13.13.

CSV is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.79. 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. CSV's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.46. Over the last 12 months, CSV's PEG has been as high as 1.26 and as low as 0.55, with a median of 0.88.

Investors should also recognize that CSV has a P/B ratio of 1.77. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.04. Over the past year, CSV's P/B has been as high as 2.24 and as low as 1.11, with a median of 1.69.

Finally, our model also underscores that CSV has a P/CF ratio of 9.99. 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 11.74. CSV's P/CF has been as high as 17.13 and as low as 6.34, with a median of 10.99, all within the past year.

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


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