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Is Methanex (MEOH) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

Methanex (MEOH - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MEOH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.10, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.67. Over the past 52 weeks, MEOH's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.71 and as low as 6.84, with a median of 10.12.

We should also highlight that MEOH has a P/B ratio of 1.59. 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 2.39. MEOH's P/B has been as high as 2.15 and as low as 1.34, with a median of 1.73, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MEOH has a P/S ratio of 0.8. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.89.

Finally, we should also recognize that MEOH has a P/CF ratio of 4.36. 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. MEOH's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 7.54. Within the past 12 months, MEOH's P/CF has been as high as 10.38 and as low as 3.55, with a median of 5.27.

Another great Chemical - Diversified stock you could consider is Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Furthermore, Orion Engineered Carbons holds a P/B ratio of 3.14 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.39. OEC's P/B has been as high as 6.35, as low as 2.35, with a median of 3.53 over the past 12 months.

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


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