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KHC vs. K: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Food - Miscellaneous stocks have likely encountered both Kraft Heinz (KHC - Free Report) and Kellogg (K - Free Report) . 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Kraft Heinz has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Kellogg has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that KHC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

KHC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.14, while K has a forward P/E of 16.83. We also note that KHC has a PEG ratio of 2.19. 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. K currently has a PEG ratio of 4.40.

Another notable valuation metric for KHC is its P/B ratio of 0.72. 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, K has a P/B of 6.70.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to KHC's Value grade of B and K's Value grade of C.

KHC stands above K thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that KHC is the superior value option right now.


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