Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system’s “Value” category. Stocks with both “A” grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.
One company to watch right now is Chefs’ Warehouse (CHEF – Free Report) . CHEF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 17.98, while its industry has an average P/E of 19.24. Over the last 12 months, CHEF’s Forward P/E has been as high as 38.31 and as low as 3.61, with a median of 31.45.
CHEF is also sporting a PEG ratio of 2.07. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company’s expected EPS growth rate. CHEF’s industry currently sports an average PEG of 2.62. Over the past 52 weeks, CHEF’s PEG has been as high as 2.55 and as low as 1.59, with a median of 2.11.
Investors should also recognize that CHEF has a P/B ratio of 0.76. 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. CHEF’s current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry’s average P/B of 2.20. Within the past 52 weeks, CHEF’s P/B has been as high as 3.89 and as low as 0.33, with a median of 3.33.
These are just a handful of the figures considered in Chefs’ Warehouse’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 CHEF is an impressive value stock right now.
