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ACI or KMB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Consumer Products - Staples sector have probably already heard of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI - Free Report) and Kimberly-Clark (KMB - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. 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.

Currently, Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Kimberly-Clark has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This means that ACI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

ACI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.93, while KMB has a forward P/E of 21.03. We also note that ACI has a PEG ratio of 1. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. KMB currently has a PEG ratio of 4.21.

Another notable valuation metric for ACI is its P/B ratio of 7.37. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, KMB has a P/B of 61.67.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ACI's Value grade of A and KMB's Value grade of C.

ACI has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than KMB, so it seems like value investors will conclude that ACI is the superior option right now.


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