Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Billiton (BBL). BBL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 6.73, which compares to its industry's average of 7.35. BBL's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.06 and as low as 6.45, with a median of 10.47, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that BBL has a P/B ratio of 1.16. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. BBL's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.16. Within the past 52 weeks, BBL's P/B has been as high as 1.32 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 1.07.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Billiton's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that BBL is an impressive value stock right now.

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