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TGT or ROST: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Retail - Discount Stores stocks are likely familiar with Target (TGT - Free Report) and Ross Stores (ROST - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Target and Ross Stores are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that TGT's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

TGT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.84, while ROST has a forward P/E of 24.54. We also note that TGT has a PEG ratio of 1.12. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ROST currently has a PEG ratio of 2.08.

Another notable valuation metric for TGT is its P/B ratio of 5.33. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ROST has a P/B of 10.51.

Based on these metrics and many more, TGT holds a Value grade of A, while ROST has a Value grade of C.

TGT is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that TGT is likely the superior value option right now.


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Target Corporation (TGT) - free report >>

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