Are Investors Undervaluing Acuity Brands (AYI) Right Now?
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.
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 use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
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 stock to keep an eye on is Acuity Brands (AYI). AYI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.35. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.22. Over the past 52 weeks, AYI's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.90 and as low as 7.59, with a median of 12.58.
Investors should also recognize that AYI has a P/B ratio of 2.14. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.17. Within the past 52 weeks, AYI's P/B has been as high as 2.99 and as low as 1.38, with a median of 2.59.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Acuity Brands is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, AYI sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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