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Are Investors Undervaluing ManpowerGroup (MAN) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is ManpowerGroup (MAN - Free Report) . MAN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.87 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.82. Over the last 12 months, MAN's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.11 and as low as 10.55, with a median of 12.76.

Another notable valuation metric for MAN is its P/B ratio of 1.59. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 2.14. Within the past 52 weeks, MAN's P/B has been as high as 1.74 and as low as 1.41, with a median of 1.60.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. MAN has a P/S ratio of 0.18. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.33.

RCM Technologies (RCMT - Free Report) may be another strong Staffing Firms stock to add to your shortlist. RCMT is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

RCM Technologies sports a P/B ratio of 5.49 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.14. In the past 52 weeks, RCMT's P/B has been as high as 11.03, as low as 4.90, with a median of 5.97.

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


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