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

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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.

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.

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 to watch right now is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - Free Report) . PPC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 9.72, while its industry has an average P/E of 15.98. Over the past year, PPC's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.59 and as low as 8.96, with a median of 11.05.

PPC is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.23. 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. PPC's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.57. Within the past year, PPC's PEG has been as high as 0.42 and as low as 0.21, with a median of 0.28.

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. PPC has a P/S ratio of 0.61. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.92.

Finally, investors should note that PPC has a P/CF ratio of 9.29. 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 14.27. Over the past year, PPC's P/CF has been as high as 14.59 and as low as 7.56, with a median of 9.31.

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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