Is Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) a Good Pick for Value Investors?

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 Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated JLL 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, Jones Lang LaSalle has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 18.8, 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 compares in at about 21.7. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Jones Lang LaSalle’s current PE ratio above its midpoint over the past five years.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 41.6. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Jones Lang LaSalle has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 16.9, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Jones Lang LaSalle stock in the near term too.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Jones Lang LaSalle has a P/S ratio of about 0.9. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.5 right now.

If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Jones Lang LaSalle currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Jones Lang LaSalle a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Jones Lang LaSalle 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 grade of B and a Momentum score of F. This gives JLL a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of B. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings trend has been favorable. The current year and next has seen three estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to none lower.

This has had a significant impact on the consensus estimate though as the current year consensus estimate has increased by 5% in the past two months, while the next year estimate has increased by 5.9%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated Price and Consensus

This positive trend signifies bullish analyst sentiment, and its Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) indicates robust fundamentals and expectations of outperformance in the near term.

Bottom Line

Jones Lang LaSalle is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Moreover, a strong industry rank (Top 28% compared to over 250 industries) further underlines the potential of the company overall. In fact, over the past six months, industry has outperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, it might pay for value investors to delve deeper into the company’s prospects, as fundamentals indicate that this stock could be a compelling pick.

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