Yahoo Finance Should Value Investors Buy Banco Santander (SAN) Stock?
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 use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.
On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.
Banco Santander (SAN) is a stock many investors are watching right now. SAN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 5.53, which compares to its industry's average of 7.72. Over the past year, SAN's Forward P/E has been as high as 6.42 and as low as 4.44, with a median of 5.45.
SAN is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.39. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. SAN's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.60. Within the past year, SAN's PEG has been as high as 0.49 and as low as 0.28, with a median of 0.34.
Investors should also recognize that SAN has a P/B ratio of 0.66. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to 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 1.53. Within the past 52 weeks, SAN's P/B has been as high as 0.73 and as low as 0.51, with a median of 0.58.
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. SAN has a P/S ratio of 0.89. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.14.
Finally, investors will want to recognize that SAN has a P/CF ratio of 5.02. 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 12.25. Over the past year, SAN's P/CF has been as high as 5.59 and as low as 4.10, with a median of 4.68.
These are only a few of the key metrics included in Banco Santander'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, SAN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.
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Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
