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Should Value Investors Buy Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. 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 14.64, while its industry has an average P/E of 21.74. HII's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.15 and as low as 12.54, with a median of 14.20, all within the past year.

Investors will also notice that HII has a PEG ratio of 1.83. 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. HII's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.85. Within the past year, HII's PEG has been as high as 2.22 and as low as 1.77, with a median of 2.06.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HII's P/B ratio of 2.53. 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. HII's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.06. Over the past 12 months, HII's P/B has been as high as 3.15 and as low as 2.13, with a median of 2.45.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. HII has a P/S ratio of 0.85. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.39.

Finally, investors should note that HII has a P/CF ratio of 10.68. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 21.63. Over the past 52 weeks, HII's P/CF has been as high as 10.74 and as low as 8.23, with a median of 9.47.

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


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