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YUMC or CMG: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Restaurants stocks have likely encountered both Yum China Holdings (YUMC - Free Report) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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.

Yum China Holdings has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Chipotle Mexican Grill has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that YUMC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

YUMC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.23, while CMG has a forward P/E of 38.77. We also note that YUMC has a PEG ratio of 1.81. 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. CMG currently has a PEG ratio of 2.38.

Another notable valuation metric for YUMC is its P/B ratio of 2.79. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, CMG has a P/B of 17.86.

These metrics, and several others, help YUMC earn a Value grade of B, while CMG has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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