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Are Investors Undervaluing Chico's FAS (CHS) 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, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Chico's FAS . CHS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.15. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.39. Over the past 52 weeks, CHS's Forward P/E has been as high as 185.57 and as low as -50.86, with a median of 12.33.

Another notable valuation metric for CHS is its P/B ratio of 2.73. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.11. Within the past 52 weeks, CHS's P/B has been as high as 5.40 and as low as 2.04, with a median of 3.15.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. CHS has a P/S ratio of 0.34. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.5.

Finally, investors should note that CHS has a P/CF ratio of 6.26. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 7.14. Within the past 12 months, CHS's P/CF has been as high as 72.75 and as low as -13.60, with a median of -2.07.

Another great Retail - Apparel and Shoes stock you could consider is Designer Brands (DBI - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Furthermore, Designer Brands holds a P/B ratio of 2.57 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 3.11. DBI's P/B has been as high as 5.57, as low as 2.01, with a median of 3.11 over the past 12 months.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Chico's FAS and Designer Brands are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, CHS and DBI feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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