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DG vs. ROST: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Retail - Discount Stores sector have probably already heard of Dollar General (DG - Free Report) and Ross Stores (ROST - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. 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.

Currently, both Dollar General and Ross Stores are holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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.

DG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.83, while ROST has a forward P/E of 25.83. We also note that DG has a PEG ratio of 1.66. 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. ROST currently has a PEG ratio of 1.77.

Another notable valuation metric for DG is its P/B ratio of 2.91. 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, ROST has a P/B of 10.73.

Based on these metrics and many more, DG holds a Value grade of A, while ROST has a Value grade of D.

Both DG and ROST are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that DG is the superior value option right now.

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