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Are Investors Undervaluing Ingredion (INGR) 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.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

Ingredion (INGR - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. INGR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.97. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.10. Over the past year, INGR's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.43 and as low as 11.55, with a median of 13.47.

Another notable valuation metric for INGR is its P/B ratio of 1.89. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.03. Over the past year, INGR's P/B has been as high as 2.46 and as low as 1.82, with a median of 2.08.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. INGR has a P/S ratio of 0.84. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.39.

Finally, we should also recognize that INGR has a P/CF ratio of 17.72. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 18.06. Over the past year, INGR's P/CF has been as high as 27.60 and as low as 10.63, with a median of 17.51.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Ingredion is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, INGR sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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