Are Investors Undervaluing AES (AES) Right Now?

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company value investors might notice is AES (AES). AES is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.29, while its industry has an average P/E of 15.49. Over the last 12 months, AES's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.98 and as low as 6.52, with a median of 12.16.

AES is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.09. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AES's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.37. AES's PEG has been as high as 1.74 and as low as 0.74, with a median of 1.46, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that AES has a P/B ratio of 1.73. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. AES's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.75. AES's P/B has been as high as 2.67 and as low as 1.21, with a median of 2.06, over the past year.

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. AES has a P/S ratio of 0.86. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.77.

Finally, investors should note that AES has a P/CF ratio of 6.71. 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. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 7.58. Over the past year, AES's P/CF has been as high as 10.36 and as low as 4.71, with a median of 7.51.

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

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