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Is Arcos Dorados (ARCO) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Arcos Dorados (ARCO - Free Report) . ARCO is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.19 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 24.65. Over the past 52 weeks, ARCO's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.32 and as low as 10.94, with a median of 13.81.

We also note that ARCO holds a PEG ratio of 1.44. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ARCO's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.87. Within the past year, ARCO's PEG has been as high as 1.50 and as low as 0.36, with a median of 0.56.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. ARCO has a P/S ratio of 0.44. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.05.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that ARCO has a P/CF ratio of 6.10. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 20.31. Over the past year, ARCO's P/CF has been as high as 10.44 and as low as 5.73, with a median of 6.69.

Jack In The Box (JACK - Free Report) may be another strong Retail - Restaurants stock to add to your shortlist. JACK is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Jack In The Box are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 13.78 and a PEG ratio of 0.81 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 24.65 and 1.87, respectively.

Over the last 12 months, JACK's P/E has been as high as 14.96, as low as 8.30, with a median of 12.19, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.88, as low as 0.49, with a median of 0.72.

Furthermore, Jack In The Box holds a P/B ratio of -2.50 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is -21.28. JACK's P/B has been as high as -1.52, as low as -2.57, with a median of -2.21 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Arcos Dorados and Jack In The Box strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ARCO and JACK look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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