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Should Value Investors Buy Sprouts Farmers (SFM) Stock?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Sprouts Farmers (SFM - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. SFM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.11, which compares to its industry's average of 16.20. Over the past 52 weeks, SFM's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.67 and as low as 10.28, with a median of 12.70.

Investors should also note that SFM holds a PEG ratio of 1.42. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. SFM's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.78. Over the last 12 months, SFM's PEG has been as high as 4.78 and as low as 1.12, with a median of 1.38.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SFM has a P/CF ratio of 5.72. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. SFM's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.44. Over the past 52 weeks, SFM's P/CF has been as high as 7.93 and as low as 4.44, with a median of 5.68.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Sprouts Farmers is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SFM sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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