Back to top

Image: Bigstock

KR vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Retail - Supermarkets sector might want to consider either Kroger (KR - Free Report) or Walmart (WMT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Kroger and Walmart are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that KR is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

KR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.85, while WMT has a forward P/E of 26.09. We also note that KR has a PEG ratio of 2.66. 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. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.01.

Another notable valuation metric for KR is its P/B ratio of 3.54. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, WMT has a P/B of 5.49.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to KR's Value grade of A and WMT's Value grade of C.

KR has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than WMT, so it seems like value investors will conclude that KR is the superior option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Walmart Inc. (WMT) - free report >>

The Kroger Co. (KR) - free report >>

Published in