Should Value Investors Buy International Game Technology (IGT) 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, 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.

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 to watch right now is International Game Technology (IGT). IGT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.16 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 16.68. Over the past 52 weeks, IGT's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.33 and as low as 8.42, with a median of 10.69.

IGT is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.12. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. IGT's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.46. IGT's PEG has been as high as 1.36 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.05, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is IGT's P/B ratio of 1.08. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.19. Within the past 52 weeks, IGT's P/B has been as high as 1.68 and as low as 0.95, with a median of 1.15.

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. IGT has a P/S ratio of 0.56. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.46.

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

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
International Game Technology (IGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research