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CMPGY vs. CMG: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Retail - Restaurants sector have probably already heard of Compass Group PLC (CMPGY - Free Report) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Compass Group PLC and Chipotle Mexican Grill are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CMPGY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CMG has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

CMPGY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.64, while CMG has a forward P/E of 26.50. We also note that CMPGY has a PEG ratio of 1.79. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. CMG currently has a PEG ratio of 3.14.

Another notable valuation metric for CMPGY is its P/B ratio of 7.79. 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 12.62.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CMPGY's Value grade of B and CMG's Value grade of D.

CMPGY 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 CMPGY is likely the superior value option right now.


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