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ASO or POOL: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Leisure and Recreation Products sector might want to consider either Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (ASO - Free Report) or Pool Corp. (POOL - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. and Pool Corp. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ASO is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

ASO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.04, while POOL has a forward P/E of 16.60. We also note that ASO has a PEG ratio of 0.64. 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. POOL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.66.

Another notable valuation metric for ASO is its P/B ratio of 2.47. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, POOL has a P/B of 9.89.

Based on these metrics and many more, ASO holds a Value grade of A, while POOL has a Value grade of D.

ASO 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 ASO is likely the superior value option right now.


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