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SFM or SOVO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Food - Natural Foods Products sector might want to consider either Sprouts Farmers (SFM - Free Report) or Sovos Brands, Inc. . 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Sprouts Farmers has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Sovos Brands, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that SFM likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SOVO has recently. 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.

SFM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.68, while SOVO has a forward P/E of 27.76. We also note that SFM has a PEG ratio of 1.43. 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. SOVO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.76.

Another notable valuation metric for SFM is its P/B ratio of 3.49. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, SOVO has a P/B of 3.52.

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

SFM 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 SFM is likely the superior value option right now.


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