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Are Investors Undervaluing The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 company to watch right now is The Greenbrier Companies (GBX - Free Report) . GBX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.86, which compares to its industry's average of 13.27. GBX's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.64 and as low as 6.49, with a median of 10.36, all within the past year.

We also note that GBX holds a PEG ratio of 1.45. 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. GBX's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.78. Over the past 52 weeks, GBX's PEG has been as high as 2.21 and as low as 0.49, with a median of 0.95.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a preferred metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. GBX has a P/S ratio of 0.39. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.94.

Finally, our model also underscores that GBX has a P/CF ratio of 4.05. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. GBX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.23. Over the past year, GBX's P/CF has been as high as 7.93 and as low as 4.03, with a median of 5.81.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in The Greenbrier Companies'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 GBX is an impressive value stock right now.


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