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Are Investors Undervaluing These Retail-Wholesale Stocks Right Now?

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Group 1 Automotive (GPI). GPI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.44 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 6.61. Over the past 52 weeks, GPI's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.62 and as low as 5.44, with a median of 7.34.

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Another valuation metric that we should highlight is GPI's P/B ratio of 1.76. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.39. Over the past year, GPI's P/B has been as high as 2.19 and as low as 1.54, with a median of 1.83.

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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. GPI has a P/S ratio of 0.26. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.45.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GPI has a P/CF ratio of 5.15. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10. GPI's P/CF has been as high as 8.46 and as low as 4.63, with a median of 5.69, all within the past year.

If you're looking for another solid Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales value stock, take a look at Lithia Motors (LAD). LAD is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of Lithia Motors are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 8.03 and a PEG ratio of 0.38 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 6.61 and 0.34, respectively.

LAD's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.87 and as low as 7.58, with a median of 13.41. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.89, as low as 0.36, with a median of 0.51.

Lithia Motors also has a P/B ratio of 1.99 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 2.68.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Group 1 Automotive 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 GPI and LAD is an impressive value stock right now.


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