Are Investors Undervaluing These Retail-Wholesale 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 to watch right now is AutoNation (AN). AN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. AN has a P/S ratio of 0.28. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.44.

Finally, our model also underscores that AN has a P/CF ratio of 5.80. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 9.99. AN's P/CF has been as high as 9.20 and as low as 5.80, with a median of 7.40, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Lithia Motors (LAD), an Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Lithia Motors is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 8.35 while its PEG ratio sits at 0.39. Both of the company's metrics compare favorably to its industry's average P/E of 6.60 and average PEG ratio of 0.34.

Over the last 12 months, LAD's P/E has been as high as 19.87, as low as 7.58, with a median of 13.24, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.89, as low as 0.36, with a median of 0.50.

Lithia Motors also has a P/B ratio of 2.07 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.39. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 4.12, as low as 1.86, with a median of 2.65.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in AutoNation and Lithia Motors's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that AN and LAD is an impressive value stock right now.

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