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JSAIY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Supermarkets stocks have likely encountered both J. Sainsbury PLC (JSAIY - Free Report) and Walmart (WMT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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.

Both J. Sainsbury PLC and Walmart have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

JSAIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.91, while WMT has a forward P/E of 26.94. We also note that JSAIY has a PEG ratio of 2.84. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.77.

Another notable valuation metric for JSAIY is its P/B ratio of 0.92. 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, WMT has a P/B of 5.95.

These metrics, and several others, help JSAIY earn a Value grade of A, while WMT has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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