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Are These Retail-Wholesale Stocks Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is Asbury Automotive Group (ABG - Free Report) . ABG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.50, which compares to its industry's average of 6.13. Over the past year, ABG's Forward P/E has been as high as 174.50 and as low as 5.12, with a median of 9.28.

ABG is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.30. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ABG's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.31. Within the past year, ABG's PEG has been as high as 9.42 and as low as 0.28, with a median of 0.50.

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. ABG has a P/S ratio of 0.4. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.42.

Finally, we should also recognize that ABG has a P/CF ratio of 5.82. 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. ABG's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 9.54. Over the past year, ABG's P/CF has been as high as 12.40 and as low as 5.42, with a median of 7.59.

Another great Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales stock you could consider is Penske Automotive Group (PAG - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Penske Automotive Group is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 7.27 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 0.35. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 6.13 and average PEG ratio of 0.31.

PAG's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.62 and as low as 7.12, with a median of 8.65. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.09, as low as 0.35, with a median of 0.88.

Penske Automotive Group sports a P/B ratio of 1.98 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.28. In the past 52 weeks, PAG's P/B has been as high as 2.31, as low as 1.54, with a median of 1.99.

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


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Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG) - free report >>

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