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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Retail - Supermarkets sector have probably already heard of Marks and Spencer Group PLC (MAKSY - 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 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 Marks and Spencer Group PLC and Walmart have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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 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.

MAKSY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.98, while WMT has a forward P/E of 28.70. We also note that MAKSY has a PEG ratio of 0.72. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.01.

Another notable valuation metric for MAKSY is its P/B ratio of 2.22. 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, WMT has a P/B of 6.37.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MAKSY's Value grade of A and WMT's Value grade of C.

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


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