Investors interested in Retail - Discount Stores stocks are likely familiar with Target (TGT) and Costco (COST). 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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Target and Costco are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.
TGT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.86, while COST has a forward P/E of 30.49. We also note that TGT has a PEG ratio of 2.20. 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. COST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.42.
Another notable valuation metric for TGT is its P/B ratio of 3.71. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, COST has a P/B of 7.48.
Based on these metrics and many more, TGT holds a Value grade of A, while COST has a Value grade of C.
Both TGT and COST are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that TGT is the superior value option right now.
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
Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
