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Are These Consumer Staples Stocks Undervalued Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Albertsons Companies (ACI - Free Report) . ACI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.59, while its industry has an average P/E of 21.07. Over the past year, ACI's Forward P/E has been as high as 66 and as low as 5.35, with a median of 10.50.

Investors will also notice that ACI has a PEG ratio of 1.20. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ACI's industry has an average PEG of 1.22 right now. Within the past year, ACI's PEG has been as high as 8.25 and as low as 0.45, with a median of 0.88.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ACI has a P/CF ratio of 5.81. 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 company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 11.40. Over the past 52 weeks, ACI's P/CF has been as high as 8.81 and as low as 2.34, with a median of 5.18.

Another great Consumer Products - Staples stock you could consider is Edgewell Personal Care (EPC - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Shares of Edgewell Personal Care are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 14.79 and a PEG ratio of 2.39 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 21.07 and 1.22, respectively.

EPC's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.21 and as low as 10.55, with a median of 13.77. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.86, as low as 2.39, with a median of 2.61.

Edgewell Personal Care also has a P/B ratio of 1.63 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.92. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 1.78, as low as 1.12, with a median of 1.48.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Albertsons Companies and Edgewell Personal Care strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ACI and EPC look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI) - free report >>

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