Are Investors Undervaluing United Rentals (URI) Right Now?

The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 company to watch right now is United Rentals (URI). URI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 7.99 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.60. Over the past 52 weeks, URI's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.80 and as low as 7.49, with a median of 11.18.

Investors should also note that URI holds a PEG ratio of 0.45. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. URI's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.02. URI's PEG has been as high as 0.97 and as low as 0.43, with a median of 0.66, all within the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that URI has a P/CF ratio of 5.02. 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. URI's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 13. Over the past year, URI's P/CF has been as high as 9.09 and as low as 4.44, with a median of 6.73.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that United Rentals is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, URI sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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