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Is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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.

One company value investors might notice is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - Free Report) . PPC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 9.26 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 17.20. Over the past year, PPC's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.80 and as low as 7.08, with a median of 13.92.

PPC is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. PPC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.71. Over the last 12 months, PPC's PEG has been as high as 2.47 and as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.75.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PPC's P/B ratio of 1.66. 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 stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.05. PPC's P/B has been as high as 3.58 and as low as 1.59, with a median of 2.94, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. PPC has a P/S ratio of 0.34. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.57.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that PPC has a P/CF ratio of 5.61. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. PPC's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.60. Within the past 12 months, PPC's P/CF has been as high as 14.42 and as low as 5.41, with a median of 10.94.

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


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