Are Investors Undervaluing CBS (VIAC) 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 company value investors might notice is CBS (VIAC). VIAC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. VIAC has a P/S ratio of 1.03. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.12.

Finally, investors should note that VIAC has a P/CF ratio of 5.08. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 13.13. Over the past 52 weeks, VIAC's P/CF has been as high as 8.93 and as low as 4.29, with a median of 5.61.

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