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ARCO vs. WEN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Retail - Restaurants stocks are likely familiar with Arcos Dorados (ARCO - Free Report) and Wendy's (WEN - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. 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.

Arcos Dorados and Wendy's are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ARCO is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ARCO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.15, while WEN has a forward P/E of 21.59. We also note that ARCO has a PEG ratio of 1.49. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. WEN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.17.

Another notable valuation metric for ARCO is its P/B ratio of 6.04. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, WEN has a P/B of 10.76.

Based on these metrics and many more, ARCO holds a Value grade of A, while WEN has a Value grade of C.

ARCO stands above WEN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ARCO is the superior value option right now.


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