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VFC or CTAS: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Textile - Apparel stocks have likely encountered both V.F. (VFC - 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.

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.

Right now, V.F. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Cintas has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that VFC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

VFC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.33, while CTAS has a forward P/E of 35.98. We also note that VFC has a PEG ratio of 0.99. 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 3.10.

Another notable valuation metric for VFC is its P/B ratio of 4.34. 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, CTAS has a P/B of 14.69.

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

VFC sticks out from CTAS in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that VFC is the better option right now.

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