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Are These Consumer Staples Stocks a Great Value Stocks 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, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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.

One company to watch right now is Hillenbrand (HI - Free Report) . HI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.57. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.75. Over the past 52 weeks, HI's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.85 and as low as 11.02, with a median of 12.53.

HI is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.96. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. HI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.67. Over the last 12 months, HI's PEG has been as high as 1.24 and as low as 0.92, with a median of 1.04.

Another notable valuation metric for HI is its P/B ratio of 2.69. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with 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 4.50. Within the past 52 weeks, HI's P/B has been as high as 3.21 and as low as 2.39, with a median of 2.73.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. HI has a P/S ratio of 1.18. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.72.

Investors could also keep in mind Matthews International (MATW - Free Report) , an Funeral Services stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Matthews International sports a P/B ratio of 1.66 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 4.50. In the past 52 weeks, MATW's P/B has been as high as 2.21, as low as 1.58, with a median of 1.77.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Hillenbrand and Matthews International strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HI and MATW look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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