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Should Value Investors Buy SpartanNash (SPTN) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is SpartanNash (SPTN - Free Report) . SPTN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

Investors should also recognize that SPTN has a P/B ratio of 1.40. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.87. SPTN's P/B has been as high as 1.63 and as low as 0.88, with a median of 1.16, over the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. SPTN has a P/S ratio of 0.12. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.27.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that SPTN has a P/CF ratio of 6.74. 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. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.86. Within the past 12 months, SPTN's P/CF has been as high as 7.84 and as low as 4.04, with a median of 5.60.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that SpartanNash is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SPTN sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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