Is Jefferies (JEF) a Great Value Stock 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

Jefferies (JEF) is a stock many investors are watching right now. JEF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.32, while its industry has an average P/E of 13.58. Over the past year, JEF's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.77 and as low as 7.98, with a median of 13.58.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. JEF has a P/S ratio of 1.03. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.67.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Jefferies's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, JEF looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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