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Should Value Investors Buy Matson (MATX) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

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.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Matson (MATX - Free Report) . MATX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.35, which compares to its industry's average of 21.70. MATX's Forward P/E has been as high as 28.13 and as low as 9.54, with a median of 16.60, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for MATX is its P/B ratio of 2.75. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 4.43. Over the past 12 months, MATX's P/B has been as high as 3.47 and as low as 1.86, with a median of 2.73.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Matson'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, MATX looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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