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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 offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Right now, Hibbett Sports is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Ulta Beauty has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). 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 piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

HIBB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.75, while ULTA has a forward P/E of 32.67. We also note that HIBB has a PEG ratio of 0.80. 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 1.98.

Another notable valuation metric for HIBB is its P/B ratio of 2.95. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ULTA has a P/B of 8.84.

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