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PPC or HRL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Food - Meat Products sector have probably already heard of Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - Free Report) and Hormel Foods (HRL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, both Pilgrim's Pride and Hormel Foods are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

PPC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.48, while HRL has a forward P/E of 26.29. We also note that PPC has a PEG ratio of 0.40. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HRL currently has a PEG ratio of 3.54.

Another notable valuation metric for PPC is its P/B ratio of 2.57. 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. For comparison, HRL has a P/B of 3.72.

These metrics, and several others, help PPC earn a Value grade of A, while HRL has been given a Value grade of C.

Both PPC and HRL are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that PPC is the superior value option right now.


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