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

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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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

J. Sainsbury PLC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Walmart has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that JSAIY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

JSAIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.35, while WMT has a forward P/E of 30.12. We also note that JSAIY has a PEG ratio of 3.19. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.02.

Another notable valuation metric for JSAIY is its P/B ratio of 1.02. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, WMT has a P/B of 6.52.

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

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


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