A Look Into Consumer Defensive Sector Value Stocks

What Defines a Value Stock?

A value stock is traditionally defined in terms of how investors in the marketplace are valuing that company's future growth prospects. Low P/E multiples are good base indicators that the company is undervalued and can most likely be labelled as a value stock.

The following stocks are considered to be notable value stocks in the consumer defensive sector:

1. Herbalife Nutrition HLF - P/E: 6.16
2. Bridgford Foods BRID - P/E: 3.38
3. Ingles Markets IMKTA - P/E: 5.7
4. Natural Alternatives Intl NAII - P/E: 5.46
5. Adecoagro AGRO - P/E: 5.44

This quarter, Herbalife Nutrition experienced a decrease in earnings per share, which was $0.99 in Q1 and is now $0.96. Its most recent dividend yield is at 1.71%, which has decreased by 1.82% from 3.53% in the previous quarter.

This quarter, Bridgford Foods experienced an increase in earnings per share, which was $-0.09 in Q2 and is now $0.04. Most recently, Ingles Markets reported earnings per share at $3.57, whereas in Q2 earnings per share sat at $3.61. Most recently, the company reported a dividend yield of 0.81%, which has increased by 0.05% from last quarter's yield of 0.76%.

This quarter, Natural Alternatives Intl experienced an increase in earnings per share, which was $0.41 in Q3 and is now $0.52. Adecoagro's earnings per share for Q2 sits at $0.4, whereas in Q1, they were at 0.13.

The Significance: A value stock may need some time to rebound from its undervalued position. The risk of investing in a value stock is that this emergence may never materialize.