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Should Value Investors Buy Barrick Gold (GOLD) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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.

Barrick Gold (GOLD - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. GOLD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.73. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.67. GOLD's Forward P/E has been as high as 22.29 and as low as 13.15, with a median of 15.30, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that GOLD has a PEG ratio of 0.45. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. GOLD's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.51. Within the past year, GOLD's PEG has been as high as 8.67 and as low as 0.35, with a median of 1.18.

Investors should also recognize that GOLD has a P/B ratio of 1.01. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. GOLD's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.37. Over the past 12 months, GOLD's P/B has been as high as 1.05 and as low as 0.77, with a median of 0.91.

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. GOLD has a P/S ratio of 2.8. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.24.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GOLD has a P/CF ratio of 9.27. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.54. Over the past year, GOLD's P/CF has been as high as 15.75 and as low as 7.45, with a median of 9.19.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Barrick Gold is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, GOLD sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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