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Should Value Investors Buy Crawford & Company (CRD.B) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 company to watch right now is Crawford & Company (CRD.B - Free Report) . CRD.B is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CRD.B's P/B ratio of 3.06. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 3.12. Over the past year, CRD.B's P/B has been as high as 3.21 and as low as 1.37, with a median of 2.66.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. CRD.B has a P/S ratio of 0.35. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.99.

Finally, we should also recognize that CRD.B has a P/CF ratio of 17.99. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 27.19. Over the past 52 weeks, CRD.B's P/CF has been as high as 21.84 and as low as 3.44, with a median of 16.41.

Worley Limited (WYGPY - Free Report) may be another strong Business - Services stock to add to your shortlist. WYGPY is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Furthermore, Worley Limited holds a P/B ratio of 1.45 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 3.12. WYGPY's P/B has been as high as 1.51, as low as 1.03, with a median of 1.31 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Crawford & Company and Worley Limited strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, CRD.B and WYGPY look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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