Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Food - Miscellaneous sector might want to consider either Smucker (SJM - Free Report) or 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.

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.

Smucker and Celsius Holdings Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This means that SJM's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

SJM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.90, while CELH has a forward P/E of 19.87. We also note that SJM has a PEG ratio of 1.72. 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 2.00.

Another notable valuation metric for SJM is its P/B ratio of 2.37. 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, CELH has a P/B of 6.01.

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

SJM 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 SJM is likely the superior value option right now.

Published in