Are Investors Undervaluing These Finance Stocks 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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
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 Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). JLL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.95, which compares to its industry's average of 16.10. Over the past year, JLL's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.17 and as low as 10.95, with a median of 15.56.
We also note that JLL holds a PEG ratio of 1.22. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. JLL's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.42. JLL's PEG has been as high as 2.13 and as low as 1.22, with a median of 1.73, all within the past year.
Newmark Group (NMRK) may be another strong Real Estate - Operations stock to add to your shortlist. NMRK is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.
Newmark Group is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 8.44 while its PEG ratio sits at 0.84. Both of the company's metrics compare favorably to its industry's average P/E of 16.10 and average PEG ratio of 1.42.
NMRK's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.27 and as low as 7.37, with a median of 9.31. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.23, as low as 0.74, with a median of 0.93.
Newmark Group sports a P/B ratio of 2.04 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 0.59. In the past 52 weeks, NMRK's P/B has been as high as 2.54, as low as 1.43, with a median of 1.98.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Jones Lang LaSalle and Newmark Group are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, JLL and NMRK sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Newmark Group, Inc. (NMRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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