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Is Sanderson Farms (SAFM) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Sanderson Farms . SAFM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.46, which compares to its industry's average of 16.12. SAFM's Forward P/E has been as high as 62.04 and as low as 10.28, with a median of 14.88, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that SAFM has a P/B ratio of 2.29. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.47. Over the past year, SAFM's P/B has been as high as 2.87 and as low as 2, with a median of 2.50.

Finally, investors should note that SAFM has a P/CF ratio of 6.62. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 14.32. Over the past year, SAFM's P/CF has been as high as 16.61 and as low as 6.50, with a median of 11.10.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Sanderson Farms's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, SAFM looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.

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