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Is Huntsman (HUN) a Great Value Stock 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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 value investors might notice is Huntsman (HUN - Free Report) . HUN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.18, while its industry has an average P/E of 12.80. Over the past 52 weeks, HUN's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.34 and as low as 8.18, with a median of 11.40.

Investors should also note that HUN holds a PEG ratio of 0.96. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. HUN's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.15. Over the last 12 months, HUN's PEG has been as high as 2.33 and as low as 0.96, with a median of 1.38.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is HUN's P/B ratio of 1.73. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.75. Over the past 12 months, HUN's P/B has been as high as 3.66 and as low as 1.71, with a median of 2.26.

Finally, our model also underscores that HUN has a P/CF ratio of 5.30. 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 15.11. Over the past 52 weeks, HUN's P/CF has been as high as 9.44 and as low as 5.25, with a median of 7.73.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Huntsman'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, HUN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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