Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Ingles (IMKTA) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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 fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

Ingles (IMKTA - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. IMKTA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9, which compares to its industry's average of 18.35. Over the past year, IMKTA's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.52 and as low as 8.74, with a median of 10.56.

Investors should also note that IMKTA holds a PEG ratio of 0.99. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. IMKTA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.85. Within the past year, IMKTA's PEG has been as high as 3.91 and as low as 0.88, with a median of 1.13.

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. IMKTA has a P/S ratio of 0.14. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.23.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Ingles is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, IMKTA feels like a great value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Ingles Markets, Incorporated (IMKTA) - free report >>

Published in