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Is DaVita (DVA) a Great Value Stock 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One stock to keep an eye on is DaVita (DVA - Free Report) . DVA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 13.67 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 20.43. Over the past year, DVA's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.37 and as low as 9.57, with a median of 13.64.

Investors will also notice that DVA has a PEG ratio of 1.01. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. DVA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.76. Over the last 12 months, DVA's PEG has been as high as 1.26 and as low as 0.56, with a median of 1.02.

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. DVA has a P/S ratio of 0.9. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.4.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in DaVita's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, DVA looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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