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GPS or DECK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Apparel and Shoes stocks have likely encountered both Gap (GPS - Free Report) and Deckers (DECK - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. 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, both Gap and Deckers are holding a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

GPS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.05, while DECK has a forward P/E of 32.86. We also note that GPS has a PEG ratio of 1.42. 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. DECK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.73.

Another notable valuation metric for GPS is its P/B ratio of 2.90. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, DECK has a P/B of 10.76.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GPS's Value grade of A and DECK's Value grade of D.

Both GPS and DECK are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that GPS is the superior value option right now.


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Deckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) - free report >>

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