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Are Investors Undervaluing Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 company value investors might notice is Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF - Free Report) . ANF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 13.27, while its industry has an average P/E of 14.57. Over the past 52 weeks, ANF's Forward P/E has been as high as 121.44 and as low as 13.25, with a median of 16.92.

We should also highlight that ANF has a P/B ratio of 3.51. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.52. Within the past 52 weeks, ANF's P/B has been as high as 3.53 and as low as 1.13, with a median of 1.86.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ANF has a P/CF ratio of 11.54. 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 12.98. Within the past 12 months, ANF's P/CF has been as high as 12.09 and as low as 3.50, with a median of 8.63.

If you're looking for another solid Retail - Apparel and Shoes value stock, take a look at Urban Outfitters (URBN - Free Report) . URBN is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of Urban Outfitters currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 9.88, and its PEG ratio is 0.42. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 14.57 and 0.88.

URBN's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.59 and as low as 9.82, with a median of 11.52. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.92, as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.64.

Urban Outfitters also has a P/B ratio of 1.53 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.52. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.79, as low as 1.07, with a median of 1.40.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Abercrombie & Fitch and Urban Outfitters are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ANF and URBN sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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