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Should Value Investors Buy Sprouts Farmers (SFM) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is Sprouts Farmers (SFM - Free Report) . SFM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.02. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.73. SFM's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.93 and as low as 10.28, with a median of 15.58, all within the past year.

SFM is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.63. 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. SFM's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.73. Within the past year, SFM's PEG has been as high as 4.78 and as low as 1.36, with a median of 2.21.

Finally, we should also recognize that SFM has a P/CF ratio of 7.27. 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. SFM's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.44. Within the past 12 months, SFM's P/CF has been as high as 7.95 and as low as 4.44, with a median of 7.04.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Sprouts Farmers's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that SFM is an impressive value stock right now.


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