Zacks.com Featured Highlights Include: Hibbett, Fossil, Principal Financial, GMS And CBIZ

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 26, 2019 - Stocks in this week’s article are Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB) , Fossil Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOSL) , Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) , GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) and CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) .

Pick these 5 Bargain Stocks with Impressive EV/EBITDA Ratios

The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is widely considered by investors as a yardstick for evaluating the fair market value of a stock. It is preferred by many investors to handpick stocks trading at a bargain. However, even this universally used valuation multiple is not without its limitations.

Is EV/EBITDA a Better Alternative to P/E?

Although P/E enjoys great popularity among value investors, a more-complicated metric called EV/EBITDA is sometimes viewed as a better alternative. EV/EBITDA gives the true picture of a company’s valuation and earning potential. Additionally, it has a more comprehensive approach to valuation.

EV/EBITDA is essentially the enterprise value (EV) of a stock divided by its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). The first constituent of the ratio, EV, is a firm’s market capitalization plus the market value of its debt and preferred equity minus cash.

EBITDA, the other element, is a true reflection of a company’s profitability as it removes the impact of non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization that depress net earnings. It is also often used as a proxy for cash flows.

Typically, the lower the EV/EBITDA ratio, the more attractive it is. A low EV/EBITDA ratio could signal that a stock is potentially undervalued and vice versa.

EV/EBITDA takes into account the debt on a company’s balance sheet that P/E ratio does not. Given this reason, EV/EBITDA is usually used to value possible acquisition targets. Stocks with a low EV/EBITDA multiple could be seen as potential takeover candidates.

Another drawback of P/E is that it can’t be used to value a loss-making company. A company’s earnings are also subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation. EV/EBITDA, in contrast, is less amenable to manipulation and also can be used to value firms that have negative net earnings but are positive on the EBITDA side.

Moreover, EV/EBITDA allows the comparison of companies with different debt levels and is a useful tool in measuring the value of firms that are highly leveraged and have substantial depreciation and amortization expenses.

However, EV/EBITDA is also not without its shortcomings and alone cannot conclusively determine a stock’s inherent potential and future performance. The ratio varies across industries and is generally not appropriate while comparing stocks in different industries given their diverse capital spending requirements.

As such, a strategy solely based on EV/EBITDA might not yield the desired results. But you can club it with the other major ratios in your stock investing toolbox such as price-to-book (P/B), P/E and price-to-sales (P/S) to screen bargain stocks.

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: Zacks Investment Research

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Written By: Zacks Investment Research