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Should Value Investors Buy Comfort Systems USA (FIX) Stock?

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

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 Comfort Systems USA (FIX - Free Report) . FIX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.77. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.61. Over the past year, FIX's Forward P/E has been as high as 25.19 and as low as 13.32, with a median of 19.17.

Investors should also recognize that FIX has a P/B ratio of 3.19. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 6.82. Over the past year, FIX's P/B has been as high as 4.80 and as low as 3.09, with a median of 3.76.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. FIX has a P/S ratio of 0.87. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.37.

Finally, our model also underscores that FIX has a P/CF ratio of 10.14. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 27.48. Over the past year, FIX's P/CF has been as high as 17.53 and as low as 9.81, with a median of 13.25.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Comfort Systems USA's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, FIX looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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