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TGT or ROST: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Discount Stores stocks have likely encountered both Target (TGT - Free Report) and Ross Stores (ROST - Free Report) . 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 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.

Currently, Target has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ross Stores has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that TGT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ROST has recently. 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.

TGT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.08, while ROST has a forward P/E of 25.82. We also note that TGT has a PEG ratio of 1.20. 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. ROST currently has a PEG ratio of 2.18.

Another notable valuation metric for TGT is its P/B ratio of 5.25. 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, ROST has a P/B of 10.17.

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

TGT 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 TGT is likely the superior value option right now.


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