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Are Investors Undervaluing Koppers (KOP) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 Koppers (KOP - Free Report) . KOP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.25 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 12.61. KOP's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.10 and as low as 4.64, with a median of 7.39, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for KOP is its P/B ratio of 1.75. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 1.98. KOP's P/B has been as high as 1.98 and as low as 1.17, with a median of 1.65, over the past year.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. KOP has a P/S ratio of 0.38. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.73.

Finally, investors should note that KOP has a P/CF ratio of 5.87. 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. KOP's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.34. Within the past 12 months, KOP's P/CF has been as high as 6.77 and as low as 3.35, with a median of 5.62.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Koppers's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that KOP is an impressive value stock right now.


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