Are Investors Undervaluing These Basic Materials 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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA). SLCA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. SLCA has a P/S ratio of 0.78. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.85.

Finally, investors should note that SLCA has a P/CF ratio of 4.88. 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. SLCA's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 15.33. Over the past year, SLCA's P/CF has been as high as 23.26 and as low as 3.42, with a median of 5.37.

If you're looking for another solid Mining - Miscellaneous value stock, take a look at Taseko Mines Limited (TGB). TGB is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Taseko Mines Limited sports a P/B ratio of 2.09 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 4.14. In the past 52 weeks, TGB's P/B has been as high as 3.07, as low as 1.36, with a median of 2.10.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that U.S. Silica Holdings and Taseko Mines Limited are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SLCA and TGB sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Taseko Mines Limited (TGB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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