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CROX vs. CTAS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Textile - Apparel stocks are likely familiar with Crocs (CROX - Free Report) and Cintas (CTAS - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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.

Currently, Crocs has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Cintas has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CROX has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

CROX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.76, while CTAS has a forward P/E of 34.87. We also note that CROX has a PEG ratio of 1.05. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CTAS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.05.

Another notable valuation metric for CROX is its P/B ratio of 3.63. 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, CTAS has a P/B of 14.22.

Based on these metrics and many more, CROX holds a Value grade of A, while CTAS has a Value grade of F.

CROX 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 CROX is likely the superior value option right now.

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