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Should Value Investors Buy Smart & Final Stores (SFS) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is Smart & Final Stores . SFS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.74, while its industry has an average P/E of 17.40. Over the last 12 months, SFS's Forward P/E has been as high as 21.65 and as low as 9.85, with a median of 14.05.

We also note that SFS holds a PEG ratio of 1.16. 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. SFS's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.80. Within the past year, SFS's PEG has been as high as 3.94 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 1.18.

Investors should also recognize that SFS has a P/B ratio of 1.05. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.76. SFS's P/B has been as high as 1.76 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 1.03, over the past year.

Finally, investors should note that SFS has a P/CF ratio of 2.97. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 10.17. Within the past 12 months, SFS's P/CF has been as high as 6.60 and as low as 2.31, with a median of 4.36.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Smart & Final Stores's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, SFS looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.