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IMKTA or WMT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Retail - Supermarkets stocks have likely encountered both Ingles (IMKTA - Free Report) and Walmart (WMT - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, both Ingles and Walmart are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). 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 piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

IMKTA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.70, while WMT has a forward P/E of 22.97. We also note that IMKTA has a PEG ratio of 0.95. 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. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.64.

Another notable valuation metric for IMKTA is its P/B ratio of 1.27. 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. By comparison, WMT has a P/B of 4.15.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to IMKTA's Value grade of A and WMT's Value grade of C.

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


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