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PPC vs. HRL: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Food - Meat Products stocks are likely familiar with Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - Free Report) and Hormel Foods (HRL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Pilgrim's Pride has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Hormel Foods has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PPC likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than HRL has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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 12.12, while HRL has a forward P/E of 26.97. We also note that PPC has a PEG ratio of 0.50. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. HRL currently has a PEG ratio of 4.42.

Another notable valuation metric for PPC is its P/B ratio of 2.25. 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. By comparison, HRL has a P/B of 3.87.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PPC's Value grade of A and HRL's Value grade of C.

PPC stands above HRL thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that PPC is the superior value option right now.


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