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Is Encore Capital Group (ECPG) 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.

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 value investors might notice is Encore Capital Group (ECPG - Free Report) . ECPG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.46. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.53. ECPG's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.37 and as low as 4.14, with a median of 5.49, all within the past year.

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. ECPG has a P/S ratio of 0.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.31.

Finally, we should also recognize that ECPG has a P/CF ratio of 17.23. 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. ECPG's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 27.74. Over the past 52 weeks, ECPG's P/CF has been as high as 99.38 and as low as 10.25, with a median of 17.11.

Investors could also keep in mind Enova International (ENVA - Free Report) , another Financial - Consumer Loans stock with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Enova International also has a P/B ratio of 2.57 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 0.82. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.58, as low as 1.79, with a median of 2.15.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Encore Capital Group and Enova International strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ECPG and ENVA look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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