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Are These Basic Materials Stocks Undervalued Right Now?

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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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is HudBay Minerals (HBM - Free Report) . HBM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.57, while its industry has an average P/E of 10.05. Over the past 52 weeks, HBM's Forward P/E has been as high as 57.17 and as low as 7.61, with a median of 10.27.

Another notable valuation metric for HBM is its P/B ratio of 1.41. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.19. HBM's P/B has been as high as 1.46 and as low as 0.84, with a median of 1.13, 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. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. HBM has a P/S ratio of 1.43. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.86.

Investors could also keep in mind Taseko Mines Limited (TGB - Free Report) , an Mining - Miscellaneous stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Taseko Mines Limited sports a P/B ratio of 2.10 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 4.19. In the past 52 weeks, TGB's P/B has been as high as 3.07, as low as 1.36, with a median of 2.11.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in HudBay Minerals and Taseko Mines Limited's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that HBM and TGB is an impressive value stock right now.


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