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Should Value Investors Buy Southwestern Energy (SWN) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 company value investors might notice is Southwestern Energy (SWN - Free Report) . SWN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.39. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.65. SWN's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.15 and as low as 2.80, with a median of 5.37, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that SWN has a PEG ratio of 0.66. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. SWN's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.59. SWN's PEG has been as high as 0.76 and as low as 0.31, with a median of 0.48, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for SWN is its P/B ratio of 1.04. 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. SWN's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.89. Within the past 52 weeks, SWN's P/B has been as high as 1.21 and as low as 0.21, with a median of 0.36.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. SWN has a P/S ratio of 0.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.71.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Southwestern Energy'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, SWN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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