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Should Value Investors Buy Ingredion (INGR) Stock?

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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.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is Ingredion (INGR - Free Report) . INGR is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.34 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 17.15. Over the past 52 weeks, INGR's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.87 and as low as 10.60, with a median of 12.23.

We should also highlight that INGR has a P/B ratio of 2.16. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.33. INGR's P/B has been as high as 2.27 and as low as 1.65, with a median of 2.03, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. INGR has a P/S ratio of 0.87. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.88.

Finally, our model also underscores that INGR has a P/CF ratio of 9.35. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. INGR's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.36. INGR's P/CF has been as high as 9.99 and as low as 7.78, with a median of 9.21, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Ingredion is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, INGR sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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