Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.
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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
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.
Billiton (BBL) is a stock many investors are watching right now. BBL is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.09. This compares to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 10.25. BBL’s Forward P/E has been as high as 14.45 and as low as 6.64, with a median of 11.70, all within the past year.
We also note that BBL holds a PEG ratio of 2.19. 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. BBL’s PEG compares to its industry’s average PEG of 2.23. BBL’s PEG has been as high as 3.49 and as low as 1.60, with a median of 2.82, all within the past year.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Billiton’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, BBL looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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