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FL or AEO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Retail - Apparel and Shoes sector might want to consider either Foot Locker (FL - Free Report) or American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Foot Locker has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while American Eagle Outfitters 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 FL is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

FL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.63, while AEO has a forward P/E of 15.36. We also note that FL has a PEG ratio of 1.77. 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. AEO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.20.

Another notable valuation metric for FL is its P/B ratio of 2.51. 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, AEO has a P/B of 3.49.

Based on these metrics and many more, FL holds a Value grade of A, while AEO has a Value grade of C.

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


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