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Should Value Investors Buy The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) Stock?

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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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

The Greenbrier Companies (GBX - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. GBX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.20 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.39. GBX's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.66 and as low as 8.99, with a median of 12.28, all within the past year.

Investors should also note that GBX holds a PEG ratio of 0.71. 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. GBX's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.08. GBX's PEG has been as high as 2.24 and as low as 0.69, with a median of 1.75, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for GBX is its P/B ratio of 1.14. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus 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 1.80. GBX's P/B has been as high as 1.18 and as low as 0.64, with a median of 0.97, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. GBX has a P/S ratio of 0.43. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.84.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GBX has a P/CF ratio of 7.92. 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. GBX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.71. Over the past 52 weeks, GBX's P/CF has been as high as 9.76 and as low as 5.68, with a median of 7.58.

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


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