Is Ryerson (RYI) a Great Value Stock 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 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.

One company value investors might notice is Ryerson (RYI). RYI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 4.55. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 5.59. Over the last 12 months, RYI's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.28 and as low as 1.61, with a median of 7.41.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. RYI has a P/S ratio of 0.16. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.32.

Finally, we should also recognize that RYI has a P/CF ratio of 1.83. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 3.28. RYI's P/CF has been as high as 7.07 and as low as 1.32, with a median of 3.20, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Olympic Steel (ZEUS), an Steel - Producers stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Olympic Steel sports a P/B ratio of 0.66 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.05. In the past 52 weeks, ZEUS's P/B has been as high as 1.02, as low as 0.53, with a median of 0.71.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Ryerson and Olympic Steel are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, RYI and ZEUS feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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Ryerson Holding Corporation (RYI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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