Zacks.com featured highlights: Dean Foods, Korea Electric Power, Impax Laboratories, Xerox and AerCap Holdings N.V.
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 09, 2016 - Stocks in this week’s article include: Dean Foods Company (DF), Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP), Impax Laboratories Inc. (IPXL), Xerox Corporation ( XRX) and AerCap Holdings N.V. (AER).
Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:
5 Stocks with Low Price-to-Cash-Flow Ratio to Buy Now
“It is far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.” – Warren Buffett. The strategy is quite simple – find stocks that are trading below their inherent worth.
Investment in stocks made on diligent value analysis is usually considered one of the best practices. In value investing, investors pick stocks that are cheap but are fundamentally sound. So the chances are these stocks will allow investors to book profits when the market trends upward.
There are a number of ratios to identify value stocks, but none alone can conclusively determine a stock’s inherent potential. Each ratio helps an investor to understand a particular aspect of the company’s business. One such ratio, Price to Cash Flow (or P/CF), can work wonders in stock picking if used prudently. This metric evaluates the market price of a stock relative to the amount of cash flow that the company is generating on a per share basis – the lower the number, the better.
You must be wondering why we are considering this, when the most widely used valuation metric is Price/Earnings (or P/E). Well, one of the important factors that makes P/CF a highly dependable metric is that operating cash flow adds back non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization to net income, truly diagnosing the financial health of a company.
Analysts caution that a company’s earnings are subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. On the other hand, cash flow is reliable. It is net cash flow that unveils how much money a company is actually generating and how effectively management is deploying the same.
A positive cash flow indicates an increase in the company’s liquid assets. This gives the company the means to settle debt, shell out for its expenses, reinvest in its business, endure downturns and finally pay back its shareholders. On the other hand, a negative cash flow implies a decline in the company’s liquidity, which in turn lowers its flexibility to support these moves.
However, an investment decision solely based on the P/CF metric may not fetch the desired results. To identify stocks that are trading at a discount, you should expand your search criteria and take into account price-to-book ratio, price-to-earnings ratio and price-to-sales ratio. Adding a favorable Zacks Rank and a Value Score of “A” or “B” to your search criteria should lead to even better results as they eliminate the chance of falling into a value trap.
The Bargain Hunting Strategy
Here are the parameters for selecting true value stocks:
P/CF less than or equal to X-Industry Median .
Price greater than or equal to 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.
Average 20-Day Volume greater than 100,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.
P/E using (F1) less than or equal to X-Industry Median: This parameter shortlists stocks that are trading at a discount or are equal to its peers.
P/B less than or equal to X-Industry Median: A lower P/B compared with the industry average implies that there is enough room for the stock to gain.
P/S less than or equal to X-Industry Median: The P/S ratio determines how a stock price compares to the company’s sales — the lower the ratio the more attractive the stock is.
PEG less than 1: The ratio is used to determine a stock's value by taking the company's earnings growth into account. PEG ratio gives a more complete picture than P/E ratio. A value of less than 1 indicates that the stock is undervalued and that investors need to pay less for a stock that has robust earnings growth prospect.
Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.
Value Score of less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Style Score of ‘A’ or ‘B’ when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.
Here are five of the nine stocks that qualified the screening:
Dean Foods Company (DF) – a food and beverage company – flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The expected EPS growth rate for 3–5 years is currently 12%.
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP), an integrated electric utility company, carries a Zacks Rank #1 and has 25% expected EPS growth rate for 3–5 years.
Impax Laboratories Inc. (IPXL), a specialty pharmaceutical company, carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company, which has an expected EPS growth rate of 20.3% for 3–5 years, delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 10.2% over the trailing four quarters.
Xerox Corporation (XRX), a provider of business process and document management solutions globally, holds a Zacks Rank #2. The company, with an expected EPS growth rate of 10% for 3–5 years, registered an average positive earnings surprise of 8.8% over the trailing four quarters.
AerCap Holdings N.V. (AER), an independent aircraft leasing company, carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has 9.8% expected EPS growth rate for 3–5 years. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 9.3% over the trailing four quarters.
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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
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DEAN FOODS CO (DF): Free Stock Analysis Report
KOREA ELEC PWR (KEP): Free Stock Analysis Report
IMPAX LABORATRS (IPXL): Free Stock Analysis Report
XEROX CORP (XRX): Free Stock Analysis Report
AERCAP HLDGS NV (AER): Free Stock Analysis Report
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