Are Investors Undervaluing Atlanticus (ATLC) 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.

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.

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 to watch right now is Atlanticus (ATLC). ATLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is ATLC's P/B ratio of 1.9. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.69. Over the past 12 months, ATLC's P/B has been as high as 2.08 and as low as 1.11, with a median of 1.54.

Finally, investors should note that ATLC has a P/CF ratio of 9.19. 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. ATLC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 12.94. Over the past year, ATLC's P/CF has been as high as 9.96 and as low as 4.95, with a median of 6.94.

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

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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