PPC vs. HRL: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors with an interest in Food - Meat Products stocks have likely encountered both Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) and Hormel Foods (HRL). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Pilgrim's Pride is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Hormel Foods has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PPC has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

PPC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.96, while HRL has a forward P/E of 27.53. We also note that PPC has a PEG ratio of 0.60. 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. HRL currently has a PEG ratio of 3.46.

Another notable valuation metric for PPC is its P/B ratio of 2.49. 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. By comparison, HRL has a P/B of 4.06.

Based on these metrics and many more, PPC holds a Value grade of B, while HRL has a Value grade of C.

PPC has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than HRL, so it seems like value investors will conclude that PPC is the superior option right now.

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Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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