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Are Investors Undervaluing Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII - Free Report) . HII is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.91, while its industry has an average P/E of 23.52. HII's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.15 and as low as 11.87, with a median of 13.70, all within the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. HII has a P/S ratio of 0.71. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.1.

Investors could also keep in mind Textron (TXT - Free Report) , an Aerospace - Defense stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Textron is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 13.10 while its PEG ratio sits at 1.17. Both of the company's metrics compare favorably to its industry's average P/E of 23.52 and average PEG ratio of 1.56.

TXT's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.68 and as low as 12.90, with a median of 14.89. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.47, as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.17.

Furthermore, Textron holds a P/B ratio of 1.92 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 16.86. TXT's P/B has been as high as 2.27, as low as 1.80, with a median of 2.02 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Huntington Ingalls Industries and Textron strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, HII and TXT look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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