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Should Value Investors Buy Greif (GEF) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Greif (GEF - Free Report) . GEF is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.80. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.82. Over the past 52 weeks, GEF's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.10 and as low as 8.14, with a median of 11.44.

Investors should also note that GEF holds a PEG ratio of 1.18. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. GEF's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.11. Over the last 12 months, GEF's PEG has been as high as 1.31 and as low as 0.81, with a median of 1.14.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. GEF has a P/S ratio of 0.59. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.88.

Finally, we should also recognize that GEF has a P/CF ratio of 6.58. 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 19.11. Over the past year, GEF's P/CF has been as high as 7.19 and as low as 4.13, with a median of 5.20.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Greif'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, GEF looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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