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USFD vs. CELH: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Food - Miscellaneous stocks are likely familiar with US Foods (USFD - Free Report) and Celsius Holdings Inc. (CELH - 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

US Foods has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Celsius Holdings Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that USFD likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CELH has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

USFD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.06, while CELH has a forward P/E of 20.62. We also note that USFD 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. CELH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.18.

Another notable valuation metric for USFD is its P/B ratio of 4.75. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, CELH has a P/B of 7.13.

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

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

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