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Is Spartan Stores (SPTN) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Spartan Stores (SPTN - Free Report) . SPTN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 8.18 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 15.52. Over the past year, SPTN's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.89 and as low as 7.83, with a median of 10.04.

Investors should also recognize that SPTN has a P/B ratio of 0.90. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.25. Over the past 12 months, SPTN's P/B has been as high as 1.17 and as low as 0.49, with a median of 0.74.

Finally, we should also recognize that SPTN has a P/CF ratio of 4.58. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. SPTN's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 8.44. Within the past 12 months, SPTN's P/CF has been as high as 7.59 and as low as 3.53, with a median of 5.49.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Spartan Stores's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that SPTN is an impressive value stock right now.


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