In the current market session, IAA Inc. IAA is trading at $38.35, after a 0.08% increase. However, over the past month, the stock fell by 11.88%, and in the past year, by 6.32%. Shareholders might be interested in knowing whether the stock is undervalued, even if the company is performing up to par in the current session.

The stock is currently higher from its 52 week low by 76.00%. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for investors trying to diversify their portfolio with Specialty Business Services stocks, and capitalize on the lower share price observed over the year.

The P/E ratio is used by long-term shareholders to assess the company’s market performance against aggregate market data, historical earnings, and the industry at large. A lower P/E indicates that shareholders do not expect the stock to perform better in the future, and that the company is probably undervalued. It shows that shareholders are less than willing to pay a high share price, because they do not expect the company to exhibit growth, in terms of future earnings.

Most often, an industry will prevail in a particular phase of a business cycle, than other industries.

IAA Inc. has a better P/E ratio of 28.02 than the aggregate P/E ratio of 16.7 of the Specialty Business Services industry. Ideally, one might believe that IAA Inc. might perform better in the future than it’s industry group, but it’s probable that the stock is overvalued.

Price to earnings ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors may not be able to attain key insights from trailing earnings.