Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Transmontaigne Partners L.P. TLP stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Transmontaigne Partners has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 16, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 21.03. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Transmontaigne Partners’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Oil and Gas – Production and Pipelines industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 27.2. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Transmontaigne Partners has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 17.1, so it is fair to say that the stock price might appreciate in future.
P/CF Ratio
An often overlooked ratio that can still be a great indicator of value is the price/cash flow metric. This ratio doesn’t take amortization and depreciation into account, so can give a more accurate picture of the financial health in a business. This is a preferred metric to some valuation investors because cash flows are (a) generally less prone to manipulation by the company’s management, and (b) are less affected by variation in accounting policies between different companies.
The ratio is generally applied to find out whether a company’s stock is overpriced or underpriced with reference to its cash flows generation potential compared with its competitors. However, it is not commonly used for cross-industry comparison, as the average price to cash flow ratio varies from industry to industry.
In this case, Transmontaigne Partners’s P/CF ratio of 10.5 is lower than the industry average of 13.2, which indicates that the stock is somewhat undervalued in this respect.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Transmontaigne Partners currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Transmontaigne Partners a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.
For example, its P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 9.4, which is far better than the industry average of 11. Clearly, TLP is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Transmontaigne Partners might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of C and a Momentum Score of F. This gives TLP a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of C. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been discouraging. The current quarter has seen no estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to two lower, while the full year estimate has seen no up and two down in the same time period.
This has had a significant impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has fallen by 25% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has gone down by 15%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
TransMontaigne Partners L.P. Price and Consensus
This bearish trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Transmontaigne Partners is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past three years, the industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and broader factors to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
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