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.

Below is a list of notable value stocks in the consumer defensive sector:

1. DAVIDsTEA (NASDAQ:DTEA) - P/E: 2.24
2. Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) - P/E: 6.55
3. Herbalife Nutrition (NYSE:HLF) - P/E: 9.38
4. China Online Education Gr (NYSE:COE) - P/E: 7.28
5. RYB Education (NYSE:RYB) - P/E: 9.92

Most recently, DAVIDsTEA reported earnings per share at -0.06, whereas in Q1 earnings per share sat at 0.04. DAVIDsTEA does not have a dividend yield, which investors should be aware of when considering holding onto such a stock.

This quarter, Ingles Markets experienced an increase in earnings per share, which was 2.58 in Q2 and is now 3.79. Most recently, the company reported a dividend yield of 1.01%, which has decreased by 0.1% from last quarter's yield of 1.11%.

Herbalife Nutrition has reported Q3 earnings per share at 1.21, which has decreased by 20.39% compared to Q2, which was 1.52. Its most recent dividend yield is at 1.71%, which has decreased by 1.82% from 3.53% in the previous quarter.

China Online Education Gr's earnings per share for Q2 sits at -0.13, whereas in Q1, they were at 0.05. China Online Education Gr does not have a dividend yield, which investors should be aware of when considering holding onto such a stock.

This quarter, RYB Education experienced an increase in earnings per share, which was -0.06 in Q1 and is now 0.23. RYB Education does not have a dividend yield, which investors should be aware of when considering holding onto such a stock.

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.