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Are Investors Undervaluing Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

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 company to watch right now is Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY - Free Report) . PLAY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.37 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 23.06. Over the past 52 weeks, PLAY's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.31 and as low as 8.74, with a median of 10.61.

PLAY is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0.68. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. PLAY's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.62.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. PLAY has a P/S ratio of 0.91. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.03.

Finally, investors should note that PLAY has a P/CF ratio of 6.26. 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. PLAY's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 17.44. Over the past year, PLAY's P/CF has been as high as 7.54 and as low as 4.34, with a median of 5.57.

Investors could also keep in mind Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST - Free Report) , an Retail - Restaurants stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Carrols Restaurant Group also has a P/B ratio of 2.52 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of -27.36. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.52, as low as 0.55, with a median of 1.80.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Dave & Buster's Entertainment and Carrols Restaurant Group are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, PLAY and TAST feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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