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ABEV vs. DEO: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Beverages - Alcohol stocks are likely familiar with Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) and Diageo (DEO - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Ambev has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Diageo has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. This means that ABEV's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

ABEV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 22.07, while DEO has a forward P/E of 27.90. We also note that ABEV has a PEG ratio of 2.81. 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. DEO currently has a PEG ratio of 3.39.

Another notable valuation metric for ABEV is its P/B ratio of 3.23. 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, DEO has a P/B of 9.64.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ABEV's Value grade of B and DEO's Value grade of D.

ABEV is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that ABEV is likely the superior value option right now.


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