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BJRI vs. CMG: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Retail - Restaurants sector have probably already heard of BJ's Restaurants (BJRI - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, BJ's Restaurants is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong 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 BJRI has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

BJRI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 26.88, while CMG has a forward P/E of 51.13. We also note that BJRI has a PEG ratio of 1.92. 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. CMG currently has a PEG ratio of 2.25.

Another notable valuation metric for BJRI is its P/B ratio of 2.28. 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, CMG has a P/B of 23.13.

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

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


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BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) - free report >>

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

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