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HIBB or ULTA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Retail - Miscellaneous sector might want to consider either Hibbett Sports (HIBB - Free Report) or Ulta Beauty (ULTA - 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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Hibbett Sports and Ulta Beauty are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that HIBB is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

HIBB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.02, while ULTA has a forward P/E of 84.52. We also note that HIBB has a PEG ratio of 0.47. 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. ULTA currently has a PEG ratio of 7.29.

Another notable valuation metric for HIBB is its P/B ratio of 2.06. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ULTA has a P/B of 8.37.

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

HIBB stands above ULTA thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that HIBB is the superior value option right now.


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