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PENN or CHDN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Gaming sector have probably already heard of PENN Entertainment (PENN - Free Report) and Churchill Downs (CHDN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, PENN Entertainment has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Churchill Downs has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that PENN is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

PENN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.98, while CHDN has a forward P/E of 24.73. We also note that PENN has a PEG ratio of 0.33. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CHDN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.21.

Another notable valuation metric for PENN is its P/B ratio of 0.96. 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. By comparison, CHDN has a P/B of 15.53.

These metrics, and several others, help PENN earn a Value grade of A, while CHDN has been given a Value grade of C.

PENN sticks out from CHDN in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that PENN is the better option right now.


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