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Is Peabody Energy (BTU) Stock Undervalued 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.

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.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Peabody Energy (BTU - Free Report) . BTU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

We should also highlight that BTU has a P/B ratio of 0.89. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.53. Within the past 52 weeks, BTU's P/B has been as high as 0.99 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.86.

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. BTU has a P/S ratio of 0.77. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.89.

Finally, investors should note that BTU has a P/CF ratio of 4.15. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 5.56. Within the past 12 months, BTU's P/CF has been as high as 4.24 and as low as 2.13, with a median of 3.49.

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


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