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Should Value Investors Buy Chico's FAS (CHS) 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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

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 company value investors might notice is Chico's FAS . CHS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.04, which compares to its industry's average of 10.64. CHS's Forward P/E has been as high as 132.09 and as low as 6.84, with a median of 11.97, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CHS's P/B ratio of 2.59. 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 2.77. Over the past year, CHS's P/B has been as high as 5.40 and as low as 1.95, with a median of 2.98.

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. CHS has a P/S ratio of 0.35. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.38.

Finally, our model also underscores that CHS has a P/CF ratio of 4.63. 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. CHS's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.92. 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 5.

If you're looking for another solid Retail - Apparel and Shoes value stock, take a look at J.Jill (JILL - Free Report) . JILL is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Furthermore, J.Jill holds a P/B ratio of -6.11 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.77. JILL's P/B has been as high as -1.61, as low as -6.39, with a median of -3.40 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Chico's FAS and J.Jill strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, CHS and JILL look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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