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Are These Consumer Discretionary Stocks 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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Stride (LRN - Free Report) . LRN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is LRN's P/B ratio of 1.97. 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 company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.76. Over the past 12 months, LRN's P/B has been as high as 2.24 and as low as 1.30, with a median of 1.72.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. LRN has a P/S ratio of 0.92. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.93.

If you're looking for another solid Schools value stock, take a look at Universal Technical Institute (UTI - Free Report) . UTI is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Universal Technical Institute is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 15.07 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 1. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 56.94 and average PEG ratio of 3.75.

Over the past year, UTI's P/E has been as high as 21.02, as low as 10.38, with a median of 14; its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.40, as low as 0.69, with a median of 0.92 during the same time period.

Additionally, Universal Technical Institute has a P/B ratio of 2.22 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 3.76. For UTI, this valuation metric has been as high as 2.48, as low as 1.62, with a median of 1.87 over the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Stride and Universal Technical Institute strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, LRN and UTI look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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