Is Grupo Aval (AVAL) a Profitable 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 Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. AVAL 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, Grupo Aval has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 9.17, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares quite favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 19.54. Also, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, Grupo Aval’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 11.71 over the past five years.

The stock’s PE compares favorably with the Finance Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 14.58. This indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

Meanwhile Grupo Aval has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 9.39, which is slightly higher than the current level. So, so it is fair to expect an increase in the share price in the near term.

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, Grupo Aval has a P/S ratio of 2.33. This is quite lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.38x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is much below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

Broad Value Outlook

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

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Grupo Aval 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 B. This gives AVAL 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 estimates have been upbeat. While the current-quarter estimate has seen one upward and no downward movements, the current-year estimate has seen one upward and no downward movement over the past two months.

This has had a positive effect on the consensus estimate. While the current-quarter consensus has shot up 23.5% over the past two months, the current-year estimate has risen 6.3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Despite such positive analyst sentiments, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and it is the reason why we are looking for in line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Grupo Aval is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Besides a sluggish industry rank (among Bottom 43% of more than 250 industries), with a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about the stock.

Also, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for Zacks rank, industry rank and past industry performance to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days

Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers “Most Likely for Early Price Pops.”

Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.6% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention.

See them now >>

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

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research