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Are Investors Undervaluing Honda Motor Co. (HMC) Right Now?

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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.

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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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.

Honda Motor Co. (HMC - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. HMC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.38, while its industry has an average P/E of 9.31. Over the past 52 weeks, HMC's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.18 and as low as 6.05, with a median of 7.62.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HMC's P/B ratio of 0.64. 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 1.13. Over the past year, HMC's P/B has been as high as 0.70 and as low as 0.43, with a median of 0.54.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HMC has a P/S ratio of 0.44. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.62.

Finally, we should also recognize that HMC has a P/CF ratio of 4.75. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 6.75. HMC's P/CF has been as high as 5.30 and as low as 3.53, with a median of 4.26, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Honda Motor Co.'s great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that HMC is an impressive value stock right now.


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