Is BGC Partners (BGCP) a Great Value Stock Right Now?
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.
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 stock to keep an eye on is BGC Partners (BGCP). BGCP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.
We should also highlight that BGCP has a P/B ratio of 1.19. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. BGCP's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.22. BGCP's P/B has been as high as 2.85 and as low as 1.03, with a median of 2.24, over the past year.
Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. BGCP has a P/S ratio of 0.45. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.06.
Finally, we should also recognize that BGCP has a P/CF ratio of 5.11. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 17.19. BGCP's P/CF has been as high as 26.01 and as low as 4.42, with a median of 11.69, all within the past year.
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that BGC Partners is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, BGCP feels like a great value stock at the moment.
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