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Should Value Investors Buy The Kroger Co. (KR) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is The Kroger Co. (KR - Free Report) . KR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 12.12, which compares to its industry's average of 28.28. Over the past 52 weeks, KR's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.92 and as low as 9.49, with a median of 11.58.

Another notable valuation metric for KR is its P/B ratio of 3.22. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 6.99. KR's P/B has been as high as 3.59 and as low as 2.73, with a median of 3.04, over the past year.

Finally, investors should note that KR has a P/CF ratio of 6.14. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 22.51. Over the past 52 weeks, KR's P/CF has been as high as 7.09 and as low as 5.33, with a median of 6.10.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that The Kroger Co. Is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, KR feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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