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

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Restaurants stocks have likely encountered both Portillo's Inc. (PTLO - Free Report) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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.

Portillo's Inc. and Chipotle Mexican Grill are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PTLO has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

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.

PTLO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 27.19, while CMG has a forward P/E of 29.55. We also note that PTLO has a PEG ratio of 1.76. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CMG currently has a PEG ratio of 2.05.

Another notable valuation metric for PTLO is its P/B ratio of 0.97. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CMG has a P/B of 15.48.

Based on these metrics and many more, PTLO holds a Value grade of B, while CMG has a Value grade of D.

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

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