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Is AZZ (AZZ) Stock Undervalued 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 company value investors might notice is AZZ (AZZ - Free Report) . AZZ is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 18.36 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 24.53. Over the past 52 weeks, AZZ's Forward P/E has been as high as 28.89 and as low as 9.39, with a median of 14.40.

Another notable valuation metric for AZZ is its P/B ratio of 2.13. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 5.42. Over the past 12 months, AZZ's P/B has been as high as 2.29 and as low as 1.13, with a median of 1.47.

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. AZZ has a P/S ratio of 1.58. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.05.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that AZZ has a P/CF ratio of 15.36. 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 23.14. Over the past 52 weeks, AZZ's P/CF has been as high as 22.83 and as low as 7.23, with a median of 14.39.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that AZZ is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, AZZ sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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