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Are Investors Undervaluing Tenet Healthcare (THC) Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 Tenet Healthcare (THC - Free Report) . THC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 14.98, which compares to its industry's average of 16.20. THC's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.48 and as low as 8.31, with a median of 14.73, all within the past year.

We also note that THC holds a PEG ratio of 0.82. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. THC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.20. Over the last 12 months, THC's PEG has been as high as 5.07 and as low as 0.76, with a median of 1.92.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. THC has a P/S ratio of 0.75. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.05.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that THC has a P/CF ratio of 4.41. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.21. THC's P/CF has been as high as 7.24 and as low as 2.61, with a median of 4.43, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Tenet Healthcare'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 THC is an impressive value stock right now.


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