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Should Value Investors Buy Internet Initiative Japan (IIJIY) Stock?

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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.

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 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 Internet Initiative Japan (IIJIY - Free Report) . IIJIY 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 27.88 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 30.22. Over the past 52 weeks, IIJIY's Forward P/E has been as high as 30.55 and as low as 18.40, with a median of 20.68.

We also note that IIJIY holds a PEG ratio of 1.60. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. IIJIY's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.67.

Investors should also recognize that IIJIY has a P/B ratio of 2.18. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 5.35. IIJIY's P/B has been as high as 2.21 and as low as 1.17, with a median of 1.44, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. IIJIY has a P/S ratio of 0.88. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.45.

Finally, investors should note that IIJIY has a P/CF ratio of 7.23. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. IIJIY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 24.33. Within the past 12 months, IIJIY's P/CF has been as high as 7.32 and as low as 4.34, with a median of 5.45.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Internet Initiative Japan is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, IIJIY feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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