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Is Wolseley PLC (FERGY) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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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.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. 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 Wolseley PLC . FERGY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 14.85, while its industry has an average P/E of 18.46. Over the past 52 weeks, FERGY's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.98 and as low as 14.13, with a median of 16.25.

Investors should also note that FERGY holds a PEG ratio of 0.89. 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. FERGY's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.53. Over the last 12 months, FERGY's PEG has been as high as 1.52 and as low as 0.87, with a median of 1.27.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is FERGY's P/B ratio of 4.12. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 4.66. Over the past year, FERGY's P/B has been as high as 4.59 and as low as 3.39, with a median of 4.09.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Wolseley PLC is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, FERGY sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.