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ITOCY vs. TSCO: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Miscellaneous stocks have likely encountered both Itochu Corp. (ITOCY - Free Report) and Tractor Supply (TSCO - 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.

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

Both Itochu Corp. and Tractor Supply 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. 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 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.

ITOCY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.77, while TSCO has a forward P/E of 26.46. We also note that ITOCY has a PEG ratio of 2.14. 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. TSCO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.93.

Another notable valuation metric for ITOCY is its P/B ratio of 1.41. 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, TSCO has a P/B of 10.67.

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

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


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