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PLAY vs. WEN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Retail - Restaurants sector might want to consider either Dave & Buster's (PLAY - Free Report) or Wendy's (WEN - 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.

Both Dave & Buster's and Wendy's 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 just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

PLAY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18, while WEN has a forward P/E of 31.92. We also note that PLAY has a PEG ratio of 1.21. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. WEN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.64.

Another notable valuation metric for PLAY is its P/B ratio of 4.44. 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, WEN has a P/B of 9.21.

Based on these metrics and many more, PLAY holds a Value grade of A, while WEN has a Value grade of D.

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


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The Wendy's Company (WEN) - free report >>

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) - free report >>