Should Value Investors Buy Hawkins (HWKN) Stock?

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.

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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Hawkins (HWKN). HWKN is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 12.10, which compares to its industry's average of 21.75. Over the last 12 months, HWKN's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.34 and as low as 11.92, with a median of 12.15.

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. HWKN has a P/S ratio of 0.68. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.27.

Finally, we should also recognize that HWKN has a P/CF ratio of 7.62. 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. HWKN's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 28.24. Over the past year, HWKN's P/CF has been as high as 10.68 and as low as 6.08, with a median of 9.19.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Hawkins is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, HWKN feels like a great value stock at the moment.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Hawkins Inc (HWKN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.