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Should Value Investors Buy Matson (MATX) Stock?

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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.

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 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.

One stock to keep an eye on is Matson (MATX - Free Report) . MATX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.88, which compares to its industry's average of 19.70. MATX's Forward P/E has been as high as 22.26 and as low as 9.09, with a median of 16.22, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for MATX is its P/B ratio of 2.51. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against 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 4.19. Over the past 12 months, MATX's P/B has been as high as 3.47 and as low as 1.90, with a median of 2.71.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Matson's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that MATX is an impressive value stock right now.


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