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ITOCY or TSCO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Miscellaneous stocks have likely encountered both Itochu Corp. (ITOCY - Free Report) and Tractor Supply (TSCO - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Both Itochu Corp. and Tractor Supply have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ITOCY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.97, while TSCO has a forward P/E of 23.51. We also note that ITOCY has a PEG ratio of 0.45. 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. TSCO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.41.

Another notable valuation metric for ITOCY is its P/B ratio of 1.35. 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, TSCO has a P/B of 12.35.

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

Both ITOCY and TSCO are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ITOCY is the superior value option right now.


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