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Are Investors Undervaluing Spartan Stores (SPTN) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. 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 company value investors might notice is Spartan Stores (SPTN - Free Report) . SPTN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.37, which compares to its industry's average of 16.43. Over the last 12 months, SPTN's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.89 and as low as 7.35, with a median of 9.80.

Investors will also notice that SPTN has a PEG ratio of 1.71. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. SPTN's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.81. Within the past year, SPTN's PEG has been as high as 1.94 and as low as 1.12, with a median of 1.39.

Another notable valuation metric for SPTN is its 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. SPTN's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.25. Over the past year, SPTN's P/B has been as high as 1.17 and as low as 0.49, with a median of 0.91.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SPTN has a P/CF ratio of 4.04. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. SPTN's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.44. SPTN's P/CF has been as high as 7.59 and as low as 3.53, with a median of 4.85, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Spartan Stores's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, SPTN looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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