Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Value Investors Buy Ingredion (INGR) Stock?

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.

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 rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 stock to keep an eye on is Ingredion (INGR - Free Report) . INGR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.14, which compares to its industry's average of 18.77. Over the last 12 months, INGR's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.47 and as low as 9.40, with a median of 12.34.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is INGR's P/B ratio of 1.99. 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 solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2. Over the past year, INGR's P/B has been as high as 2.30 and as low as 1.61, with a median of 1.98.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's 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. INGR has a P/S ratio of 1. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.52.

Finally, our model also underscores that INGR has a P/CF ratio of 10.63. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 15.18. Over the past 52 weeks, INGR's P/CF has been as high as 11.18 and as low as 7.06, with a median of 9.41.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) - free report >>

Published in