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URBN or ZGN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Apparel and Shoes stocks have likely encountered both Urban Outfitters (URBN - Free Report) and Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. (ZGN - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. 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.

Right now, Urban Outfitters is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that URBN has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

URBN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.64, while ZGN has a forward P/E of 31.37. We also note that URBN has a PEG ratio of 1.42. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ZGN currently has a PEG ratio of 3.49.

Another notable valuation metric for URBN is its P/B ratio of 2.72. 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, ZGN has a P/B of 4.42.

Based on these metrics and many more, URBN holds a Value grade of B, while ZGN has a Value grade of C.

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

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