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Are Investors Undervaluing Kroger (KR) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 company to watch right now is Kroger (KR - Free Report) . KR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.99, while its industry has an average P/E of 22.16. Over the past 52 weeks, KR's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.46 and as low as 10.99, with a median of 12.51.

KR is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.77. 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. KR's industry has an average PEG of 3.46 right now. Over the last 12 months, KR's PEG has been as high as 2.83 and as low as 1.77, with a median of 2.33.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is KR's P/B ratio of 2.45. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.61. Over the past year, KR's P/B has been as high as 3.19 and as low as 2.44, with a median of 2.72.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. KR has a P/S ratio of 0.19. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.21.

Finally, we should also recognize that KR has a P/CF ratio of 4.08. 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. KR's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 11.29. Over the past year, KR's P/CF has been as high as 5.64 and as low as 4.08, with a median of 4.82.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Kroger'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 KR is an impressive value stock right now.


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