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5 Low Price-to-Book Stocks to Add to Your Kitty in May
It’s not an easy job to find value stocks. Being aware of a company's key financial numbers, like earnings per share and sales growth, can help investors identify stocks that are trading for less than what they are worth. However, a proper analysis of the fundamentals with the help of a number of metrics is required to determine whether a stock is a good bargain or not.
For narrowing down the list of undervalued stocks, price to earnings (P/E) and price to sales (P/S) are the first ratios that come to an investor’s mind. However, the price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio), though underrated, is also an easy-to-use valuation tool for identifying low-priced stocks with high-growth prospects.
The P/B ratio is calculated as below:
P/B ratio = market capitalization/book value of equity
The P/B ratio helps to identify low-priced stocks with high growth prospects. General Motors Co., JD.com, StoneCo, Affiliated Managers Group and PagSeguro Digital are some such stocks.
Now, let us understand the concept of book value.
What's Book Value?
There are several ways by which book value can be defined. Book value is the total value that would be left over, according to the company’s balance sheet, if it goes bankrupt immediately. In other words, this is what shareholders would theoretically receive if a company liquidates all its assets after paying off all its liabilities.
It is calculated by subtracting total liabilities from the total assets of a company. In most cases, this equates to common stockholders’ equity on the balance sheet. However, depending on the company’s balance sheet, intangible assets should also be subtracted from the total assets to determine book value.
Understanding P/B Ratio
By comparing the book value of equity to its market price, we get an idea of whether a company is under or overpriced. However, like P/E or P/S ratio, it is always better to compare P/B ratios within industries.
A P/B ratio of less than one means that the stock is trading at less than its book value or the stock is undervalued and, therefore, a good buy. Conversely, a stock with a ratio greater than one can be interpreted as being overvalued or relatively expensive.
For example, a stock with a P/B ratio of 2 means that we pay $2 for every $1 of book value. Thus, the higher the P/B, the more expensive the stock.
But there is a warning. A P/B ratio of less than one can also mean that the company is earning weak or even negative returns on its assets or that the assets are overstated, in which case the stock should be shunned because it may be destroying shareholder value. Conversely, the stock’s price may be significantly high — thereby pushing the P/B ratio to more than one — in the likely case that it has become a takeover target, a good enough reason to own the stock.
Moreover, the P/B ratio is not without limitations. It is useful for businesses like finance, investments, insurance and banking or manufacturing companies with many liquid/tangible assets on the books. However, it can be misleading for firms with significant R&D expenditure, high debt, service companies, or those with negative earnings.
In any case, the ratio is not particularly relevant as a standalone number. One should analyze other ratios like P/E, P/S and debt to equity before arriving at a reasonable investment decision.
Here are five of the nine picks that qualified the screening:
Headquartered in Detroit, General Motors is one of the world’s largest automakers. General Motors, along with its strategic partners, produces, sells and services cars, trucks and parts under four core brands — Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. General Motors assembles passenger cars, crossover vehicles, light trucks, sport utility vehicles, vans and other vehicles.
General Motors has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 9.02%.
Beijing, China-based JD.com operates as an online direct sales company in China. It offers computers, mobile handsets and other digital products, home appliances, automobile accessories, clothing and shoes, luxury goods, including handbags, watches and jewelry, furniture and household products, cosmetics and other personal care items, food and nutritional supplements, books, e-books, music, movies and other media products, mother and childcare products, toys, sports and fitness equipment and virtual goods.
JD.com has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 43.75%. JD currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A.
StoneCo provides financial technology solutions. The company offers an end-to-end cloud-based technology platform to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online and mobile channels. StoneCo is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
STNE has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. STNE has a projected 3–5-year EPS growth rate of 21.46%.
Headquartered in Massachusetts, Affiliated Managers Group is a global asset manager with equity investments in a large group of investment management firms or affiliates. On the whole, the affiliates manage more than 500 investment products across each major product category — global, international and emerging markets equities, domestic equities, and alternative and fixed-income products.
Affiliated Managers Group has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A at present. AMG has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 13.0%.
PagSeguro Digital provides financial technology solutions and services for micro-merchants and small and medium-sized businesses primarily in Brazil and internationally. The company offers multiple digital payment solutions, in-person payments via point-of-sales devices and prepaid card services. PagSeguro Digital is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
PagSeguro Digital has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 14.48%. PAGS currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A.
Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and back-testing software.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks.com featured highlights General Motors, JD.com, StoneCo, Affiliated Managers and PagSeguro
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 2, 2024 – Stocks in this week’s article are General Motors Co. (GM - Free Report) , JD.com (JD - Free Report) , StoneCo (STNE - Free Report) , Affiliated Managers Group (AMG - Free Report) and PagSeguro Digital (PAGS - Free Report) .
5 Low Price-to-Book Stocks to Add to Your Kitty in May
It’s not an easy job to find value stocks. Being aware of a company's key financial numbers, like earnings per share and sales growth, can help investors identify stocks that are trading for less than what they are worth. However, a proper analysis of the fundamentals with the help of a number of metrics is required to determine whether a stock is a good bargain or not.
For narrowing down the list of undervalued stocks, price to earnings (P/E) and price to sales (P/S) are the first ratios that come to an investor’s mind. However, the price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio), though underrated, is also an easy-to-use valuation tool for identifying low-priced stocks with high-growth prospects.
The P/B ratio is calculated as below:
P/B ratio = market capitalization/book value of equity
The P/B ratio helps to identify low-priced stocks with high growth prospects. General Motors Co., JD.com, StoneCo, Affiliated Managers Group and PagSeguro Digital are some such stocks.
Now, let us understand the concept of book value.
What's Book Value?
There are several ways by which book value can be defined. Book value is the total value that would be left over, according to the company’s balance sheet, if it goes bankrupt immediately. In other words, this is what shareholders would theoretically receive if a company liquidates all its assets after paying off all its liabilities.
It is calculated by subtracting total liabilities from the total assets of a company. In most cases, this equates to common stockholders’ equity on the balance sheet. However, depending on the company’s balance sheet, intangible assets should also be subtracted from the total assets to determine book value.
Understanding P/B Ratio
By comparing the book value of equity to its market price, we get an idea of whether a company is under or overpriced. However, like P/E or P/S ratio, it is always better to compare P/B ratios within industries.
A P/B ratio of less than one means that the stock is trading at less than its book value or the stock is undervalued and, therefore, a good buy. Conversely, a stock with a ratio greater than one can be interpreted as being overvalued or relatively expensive.
For example, a stock with a P/B ratio of 2 means that we pay $2 for every $1 of book value. Thus, the higher the P/B, the more expensive the stock.
But there is a warning. A P/B ratio of less than one can also mean that the company is earning weak or even negative returns on its assets or that the assets are overstated, in which case the stock should be shunned because it may be destroying shareholder value. Conversely, the stock’s price may be significantly high — thereby pushing the P/B ratio to more than one — in the likely case that it has become a takeover target, a good enough reason to own the stock.
Moreover, the P/B ratio is not without limitations. It is useful for businesses like finance, investments, insurance and banking or manufacturing companies with many liquid/tangible assets on the books. However, it can be misleading for firms with significant R&D expenditure, high debt, service companies, or those with negative earnings.
In any case, the ratio is not particularly relevant as a standalone number. One should analyze other ratios like P/E, P/S and debt to equity before arriving at a reasonable investment decision.
Here are five of the nine picks that qualified the screening:
Headquartered in Detroit, General Motors is one of the world’s largest automakers. General Motors, along with its strategic partners, produces, sells and services cars, trucks and parts under four core brands — Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. General Motors assembles passenger cars, crossover vehicles, light trucks, sport utility vehicles, vans and other vehicles.
General Motors currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
General Motors has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 9.02%.
Beijing, China-based JD.com operates as an online direct sales company in China. It offers computers, mobile handsets and other digital products, home appliances, automobile accessories, clothing and shoes, luxury goods, including handbags, watches and jewelry, furniture and household products, cosmetics and other personal care items, food and nutritional supplements, books, e-books, music, movies and other media products, mother and childcare products, toys, sports and fitness equipment and virtual goods.
JD.com has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 43.75%. JD currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A.
StoneCo provides financial technology solutions. The company offers an end-to-end cloud-based technology platform to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online and mobile channels. StoneCo is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
STNE has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. STNE has a projected 3–5-year EPS growth rate of 21.46%.
Headquartered in Massachusetts, Affiliated Managers Group is a global asset manager with equity investments in a large group of investment management firms or affiliates. On the whole, the affiliates manage more than 500 investment products across each major product category — global, international and emerging markets equities, domestic equities, and alternative and fixed-income products.
Affiliated Managers Group has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A at present. AMG has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 13.0%.
PagSeguro Digital provides financial technology solutions and services for micro-merchants and small and medium-sized businesses primarily in Brazil and internationally. The company offers multiple digital payment solutions, in-person payments via point-of-sales devices and prepaid card services. PagSeguro Digital is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
PagSeguro Digital has a projected 3-5-year EPS growth rate of 14.48%. PAGS currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A.
Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and back-testing software.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2265648/5-low-price-to-book-stocks-to-add-to-your-kitty-in-may
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Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.