Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Panasonic (PCRFY) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 Panasonic . PCRFY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 11.22, which compares to its industry's average of 13.99. Over the past 52 weeks, PCRFY's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.53 and as low as 9.25, with a median of 11.64.

Investors should also recognize that PCRFY has a P/B ratio of 0.91. 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 1.46. PCRFY's P/B has been as high as 1.03 and as low as 0.59, with a median of 0.81, over the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PCRFY has a P/S ratio of 0.41. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.54.

Finally, our model also underscores that PCRFY has a P/CF ratio of 4.21. 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 5.36. Within the past 12 months, PCRFY's P/CF has been as high as 5.66 and as low as 3.34, with a median of 4.34.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Panasonic is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, PCRFY feels like a great value stock at the moment.

Published in