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Should Value Investors Buy Addus HomeCare (ADUS) Stock?

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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.

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.

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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Addus HomeCare (ADUS - Free Report) . ADUS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.72. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.99. ADUS's Forward P/E has been as high as 24.54 and as low as 18.17, with a median of 22.07, all within the past year.

ADUS is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.29. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ADUS's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.43. ADUS's PEG has been as high as 2.03 and as low as 1.29, with a median of 1.79, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that ADUS has a P/B ratio of 2.17. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 4. Over the past 12 months, ADUS's P/B has been as high as 2.72 and as low as 2, with a median of 2.41.

Finally, our model also underscores that ADUS has a P/CF ratio of 23.44. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 25.69. ADUS's P/CF has been as high as 28.04 and as low as 18.37, with a median of 24.43, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Addus HomeCare is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ADUS sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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