Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy DaVita (DVA) Stock?

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.

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.

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 to watch right now is DaVita (DVA - Free Report) . DVA 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 12.90. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.54. Over the last 12 months, DVA's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.73 and as low as 7.30, with a median of 12.72.

Investors will also notice that DVA has a PEG ratio of 1.02. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. DVA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.27. Over the past 52 weeks, DVA's PEG has been as high as 1.87 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.21.

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. DVA has a P/S ratio of 0.79. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.27.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that DVA has a P/CF ratio of 7.45. 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. DVA's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 24.23. Over the past year, DVA's P/CF has been as high as 8.64 and as low as 4.38, with a median of 6.02.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


DaVita Inc. (DVA) - free report >>

Published in