Is Spirit Aerosystems (SPR) a Great 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 Spirit Aerosystems
Holdings Inc. SPR 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, Spirit Aerosystems has a trailing twelve months PE
ratio of 12.50, 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 17.93. If we
focus on the long-term PE trend, Spirit Aerosystems’ current PE
level puts it below its midpoint of 12.97 over the past five years.
Moreover, the current level stands well below the highs for the
stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks
Aerospace sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at
19.72. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is
relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Spirit Aerosystems has a forward PE
ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 19.72, so it
is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be
ahead for Spirit Aerosystems 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, Spirit Aerosystems has a P/S ratio of about 1.21. This
is lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.40x
right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well
below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few
years.
If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at
least compared to historical norms.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Spirit Aerosystems currently has a Value Score of A,
putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look.
This makes Spirit Aerosystems a solid choice for value investors,
and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.
For example, the PEG ratio for Spirit Aerosystems is just 1.54, a
level that is far lower than the industry average of 2.04. The PEG
ratio is a modified PE ratio that takes into account the stock’s
earnings growth rate. Clearly, SPR is a solid choice on the value
front from multiple angles.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Spirit Aerosystems 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 A and a Momentum Score of F. This
gives SPR a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade
— of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here
>>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been dismal
at best. The current quarter has seen no upward revision in the
past sixty days compared to five downward revisions, while the full
year estimate has seen none up and seven down in the same time
period.
This has had a sluggish impact on the consensus estimate though as
the current quarter consensus estimate has dropped by 7.1% in the
past two months, while the full year estimate has declined by 6.2%.
You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action
for the stock in the chart below:
Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. Price and Consensus
Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. Price and Consensus | Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. Quote
Apart from this somewhat soft trend, the stock
has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) which is why we are looking for
in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Spirit Aerosystems is an inspired choice for value investors, as it
is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front.
Further, a strong industry rank (among Top 22% of more than 250
industries) instills our confidence.
In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Aerospace-Defense
industry has clearly outperformed the broader market, as you can
see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for estimates to turn around
in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a
compelling pick.
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