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

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Investors interested in Food - Meat Products stocks are likely familiar with Sanderson Farms and Hormel Foods (HRL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Sanderson Farms has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Hormel Foods has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that SAFM has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

SAFM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.91, while HRL has a forward P/E of 26.81. We also note that SAFM has a PEG ratio of 0.33. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HRL currently has a PEG ratio of 3.61.

Another notable valuation metric for SAFM is its P/B ratio of 2.71. 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. By comparison, HRL has a P/B of 3.79.

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

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


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