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Should Value Investors Buy Northwest Natural (NWN) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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.

One company to watch right now is Northwest Natural (NWN - Free Report) . NWN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

We should also highlight that NWN has a P/B ratio of 1.12. 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 1.17. NWN's P/B has been as high as 1.22 and as low as 0.99, with a median of 1.10, over the past year.

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. NWN has a P/S ratio of 1.33. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.76.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that NWN has a P/CF ratio of 7.06. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.62. NWN's P/CF has been as high as 7.35 and as low as 5.76, with a median of 6.29, all within the past year.

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


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