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Are Investors Undervaluing Northwest Natural (NWN) 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 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 Northwest Natural (NWN - Free Report) . NWN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 14.49 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.98. Over the past 52 weeks, NWN's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.96 and as low as 12.49, with a median of 14.20.
Another notable valuation metric for NWN is its P/B ratio of 1.15. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.22. Over the past year, NWN's P/B has been as high as 1.22 and as low as 0.99, with a median of 1.10.
Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. NWN has a P/S ratio of 1.36. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.71.
Finally, investors should note that NWN has a P/CF ratio of 7.22. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 7.95. Within the past 12 months, NWN's P/CF has been as high as 7.35 and as low as 5.76, with a median of 6.33.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Northwest Natural'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, NWN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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Are Investors Undervaluing Northwest Natural (NWN) Right Now?
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 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 Northwest Natural (NWN - Free Report) . NWN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 14.49 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 14.98. Over the past 52 weeks, NWN's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.96 and as low as 12.49, with a median of 14.20.
Another notable valuation metric for NWN is its P/B ratio of 1.15. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.22. Over the past year, NWN's P/B has been as high as 1.22 and as low as 0.99, with a median of 1.10.
Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. NWN has a P/S ratio of 1.36. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.71.
Finally, investors should note that NWN has a P/CF ratio of 7.22. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 7.95. Within the past 12 months, NWN's P/CF has been as high as 7.35 and as low as 5.76, with a median of 6.33.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Northwest Natural'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, NWN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.