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Are Investors Undervaluing Greif (GEF) 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, 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Greif (GEF - Free Report) . GEF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.82, which compares to its industry's average of 14.36. Over the last 12 months, GEF's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.12 and as low as 10.67, with a median of 12.66.

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. GEF has a P/S ratio of 0.59. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.99.

Finally, investors should note that GEF has a P/CF ratio of 6.48. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 25.82. GEF's P/CF has been as high as 7.19 and as low as 5.33, with a median of 6.35, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Greif'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 GEF is an impressive value stock right now.


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