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BURL vs. COST: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Discount Stores stocks have likely encountered both Burlington Stores (BURL - Free Report) and Costco (COST - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Burlington Stores has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Costco has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BURL is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

BURL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 31.34, while COST has a forward P/E of 45.79. We also note that BURL has a PEG ratio of 1.35. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. COST currently has a PEG ratio of 5.01.

Another notable valuation metric for BURL is its P/B ratio of 14.89. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, COST has a P/B of 15.65.

These metrics, and several others, help BURL earn a Value grade of B, while COST has been given a Value grade of C.

BURL is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that BURL is likely the superior value option right now.


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