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PVH vs. COLM: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Textile - Apparel sector have probably already heard of PVH (PVH - Free Report) and Columbia Sportswear (COLM - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

PVH has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Columbia Sportswear has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PVH has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

PVH currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.21, while COLM has a forward P/E of 16.88. We also note that PVH has a PEG ratio of 0.62. 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. COLM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61.

Another notable valuation metric for PVH is its P/B ratio of 1.02. 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, COLM has a P/B of 2.45.

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

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


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