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

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Investors looking for stocks in the Consumer Products - Staples sector might want to consider either Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI - Free Report) or 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, both Albertsons Companies, Inc. and Kimberly-Clark are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ACI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.29, while KMB has a forward P/E of 19.25. We also note that ACI has a PEG ratio of 1.04. 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. KMB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.36.

Another notable valuation metric for ACI is its P/B ratio of 6.68. 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, KMB has a P/B of 64.15.

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

Both ACI and KMB are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ACI is the superior value option right now.


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