Yahoo Finance Should Value Investors Buy American Airlines (AAL) Stock?
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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.
In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.
One stock to keep an eye on is American Airlines (AAL). AAL is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 4.79 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 8.62. Over the past 52 weeks, AAL's Forward P/E has been as high as 1,013.80 and as low as -88.98, with a median of 11.51.
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 prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. AAL has a P/S ratio of 0.18. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.43.
Finally, we should also recognize that AAL has a P/CF ratio of 2.32. 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. AAL's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.54. Over the past 52 weeks, AAL's P/CF has been as high as 26.90 and as low as -280.04, with a median of 11.72.
Allegiant (ALGT) may be another strong Transportation - Airline stock to add to your shortlist. ALGT is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.
Allegiant also has a P/B ratio of 1.55 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.82. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.30, as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.43.
Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that American Airlines and Allegiant are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, AAL and ALGT sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.
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American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
