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

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Investors interested in Retail - Miscellaneous stocks are likely familiar with Hibbett Sports (HIBB - Free Report) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Hibbett Sports has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Ulta Beauty has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that HIBB likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ULTA has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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 14.30, while ULTA has a forward P/E of 30.55. We also note that HIBB has a PEG ratio of 0.84. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ULTA currently has a PEG ratio of 2.64.

Another notable valuation metric for HIBB is its P/B ratio of 2.71. 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, ULTA has a P/B of 9.72.

Based on these metrics and many more, HIBB holds a Value grade of A, while ULTA has a Value grade of C.

HIBB is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that HIBB is likely the superior value option right now.


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