Should Value Investors Opt Preferred Apartment (APTS) Stock?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. APTS stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Preferred Apartment Communities has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 5.58, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 23.87. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Preferred Apartment Communities’ current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years. Moreover, the current level is fairly below the highs for this stock, suggesting it might be a good entry point.
However, the stock’s PE also compares unfavorably with the Zacks Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 15.3. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is slightly overvalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Preferred Apartment Communities Trust has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 6.86, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near future.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, Preferred Apartment Communities Trust has a P/S ratio of about 0.68. This substantially is lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.78 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is somewhat below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few year.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Preferred Apartment Communities currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Preferred Apartment Communities a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.
For example, the P/CF ratio for Preferred Apartment Communities comes in at 1.88, which is noticeably better than the industry average of 13.71. Clearly, APTS is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Preferred Apartment Communities Trust might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of F and Momentum Score of A. This gives APTS a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of C. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate, as the current quarter consensus estimate increased 4.5% in the past two months, whereas the current year estimate increased 1%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. Price and Consensus
Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. Quote
Even with better estimate trends, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which is why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Preferred Apartment Communities is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (bottom 13% out of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the sector has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and broader factors to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
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