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Should Value Investors Buy Maximus (MMS) Stock?
While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.
Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader 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.
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.
Maximus (MMS - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MMS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.33 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 11.63. Over the last 12 months, MMS's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.98 and as low as 10.83, with a median of 14.67.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. MMS has a P/S ratio of 0.7. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.75.
Finally, we should also recognize that MMS has a P/CF ratio of 9.97. 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. MMS's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 10.33. Within the past 12 months, MMS's P/CF has been as high as 15.78 and as low as 9.35, with a median of 12.63.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Maximus'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, MMS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.