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KR or WMT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Retail - Supermarkets stocks are likely familiar with Kroger (KR - Free Report) and Walmart (WMT - 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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Kroger and Walmart are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that KR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

KR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.49, while WMT has a forward P/E of 25.38. We also note that KR has a PEG ratio of 2.58. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.90.

Another notable valuation metric for KR is its P/B ratio of 3.43. 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, WMT has a P/B of 5.34.

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

KR has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than WMT, so it seems like value investors will conclude that KR is the superior option right now.


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