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Is Smart & Final Stores (SFS) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is Smart & Final Stores . SFS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.33. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.29. SFS's Forward P/E has been as high as 21.65 and as low as 9.85, with a median of 14.01, all within the past year.

SFS is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.39. 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. SFS's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.84. Within the past year, SFS's PEG has been as high as 3.94 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 1.42.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is SFS's P/B ratio of 1.28. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.92. Within the past 52 weeks, SFS's P/B has been as high as 1.76 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 1.06.

Finally, investors should note that SFS has a P/CF ratio of 3.60. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. SFS's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.94. Over the past year, SFS's P/CF has been as high as 6.60 and as low as 2.31, with a median of 3.70.

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.