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Are Investors Undervaluing Pampa Energia (PAM) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Pampa Energia (PAM - Free Report) . PAM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.84, which compares to its industry's average of 12.64. PAM's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.23 and as low as 3.88, with a median of 6.12, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that PAM has a P/B ratio of 0.82. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.06. Within the past 52 weeks, PAM's P/B has been as high as 1.13 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 0.85.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. PAM has a P/S ratio of 1.42. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.92.

Finally, we should also recognize that PAM has a P/CF ratio of 3.39. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.94. Over the past 52 weeks, PAM's P/CF has been as high as 4.69 and as low as 2.29, with a median of 3.24.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Pampa Energia'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 PAM is an impressive value stock right now.


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