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JILL vs. DSW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Retail - Apparel and Shoes stocks are likely familiar with J.Jill (JILL - Free Report) and DSW . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Both J.Jill and DSW have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. 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 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.

JILL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.59, while DSW has a forward P/E of 17.40. We also note that JILL has a PEG ratio of 0.98. 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. DSW currently has a PEG ratio of 2.49.

Another notable valuation metric for JILL is its P/B ratio of 1.88. 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. By comparison, DSW has a P/B of 2.35.

Based on these metrics and many more, JILL holds a Value grade of A, while DSW has a Value grade of C.

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


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