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CMPGY vs. CMG: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Retail - Restaurants sector have probably already heard of Compass Group PLC (CMPGY - Free Report) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Compass Group PLC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Chipotle Mexican Grill has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CMPGY has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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.

CMPGY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.70, while CMG has a forward P/E of 56.43. We also note that CMPGY has a PEG ratio of 1.93. 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. CMG currently has a PEG ratio of 2.49.

Another notable valuation metric for CMPGY is its P/B ratio of 7.65. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CMG has a P/B of 25.50.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CMPGY's Value grade of B and CMG's Value grade of F.

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


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Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) - free report >>

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