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Should Value Investors Buy Leslies (LESL) 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.

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.

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.

Leslies (LESL - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. LESL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 14.99, while its industry has an average P/E of 20.89. Over the past year, LESL's Forward P/E has been as high as 34.62 and as low as 7.49, with a median of 15.48.

We also note that LESL holds a PEG ratio of 1.40. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LESL's industry has an average PEG of 1.99 right now. Within the past year, LESL's PEG has been as high as 3.96 and as low as 0.27, with a median of 0.73.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. LESL has a P/S ratio of 0.37. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.74.

Finally, we should also recognize that LESL has a P/CF ratio of 13.93. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. LESL's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 30.92. LESL's P/CF has been as high as 27.89 and as low as 12.07, with a median of 16.87, all within the past year.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Leslies'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 LESL is an impressive value stock right now.


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