Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 company value investors might notice is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - Free Report) . PPC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.19 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 19.03. Over the last 12 months, PPC's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.56 and as low as 8.51, with a median of 11.01.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PPC's P/B ratio of 2.31. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PPC's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.55. PPC's P/B has been as high as 2.41 and as low as 1.47, with a median of 1.87, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PPC has a P/S ratio of 0.49. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.66.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Pilgrim's Pride is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, PPC feels like a great value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) - free report >>

Published in