Is Macy's (M) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

One company value investors might notice is Macy's (M). M is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.15, while its industry has an average P/E of 15.79. Over the past year, M's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.61 and as low as 4.69, with a median of 6.13.

Investors should also recognize that M has a P/B ratio of 1.06. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.15. Over the past 12 months, M's P/B has been as high as 1.21 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 0.86.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that M has a P/CF ratio of 3.47. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 7.48. M's P/CF has been as high as 5.04 and as low as 1.92, with a median of 2.70, all within the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Macy's is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, M 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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