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Should Value Investors Buy PACCAR (PCAR) 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is PACCAR (PCAR - Free Report) . PCAR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

PCAR is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.20. 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. PCAR's industry currently sports an average PEG of 3.07. Over the last 12 months, PCAR's PEG has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 0.94, with a median of 1.16.

We should also highlight that PCAR has a P/B ratio of 2.95. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 4.20. Within the past 52 weeks, PCAR's P/B has been as high as 3.11 and as low as 2.58, with a median of 2.84.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PCAR has a P/S ratio of 1.39. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.57.

Finally, we should also recognize that PCAR has a P/CF ratio of 9.53. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. PCAR's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 18.68. Within the past 12 months, PCAR's P/CF has been as high as 11.24 and as low as 8.57, with a median of 9.94.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that PACCAR is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, PCAR feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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