Back to top

Image: Bigstock

ODP vs. BBW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Retail - Miscellaneous sector might want to consider either Office Depot (ODP - Free Report) or Build-A-Bear (BBW - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Office Depot has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Build-A-Bear has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that ODP's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.

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.

ODP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.83, while BBW has a forward P/E of 19.42. We also note that ODP has a PEG ratio of 0.51. 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. BBW currently has a PEG ratio of 2.16.

Another notable valuation metric for ODP is its P/B ratio of 0.78. 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, BBW has a P/B of 1.19.

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

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


The ODP Corporation (ODP) - free report >>

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) - free report >>