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Are Investors Undervaluing Spartan Stores (SPTN) Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is Spartan Stores (SPTN - Free Report) . SPTN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.49, while its industry has an average P/E of 20.77. SPTN's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.59 and as low as 6.03, with a median of 8.87, all within the past year.

We also note that SPTN holds a PEG ratio of 1.71. 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. SPTN's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.51. SPTN's PEG has been as high as 1.94 and as low as 0.86, with a median of 1.27, all within the past year.

Finally, we should also recognize that SPTN has a P/CF ratio of 6.55. 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. SPTN's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 9.96. Over the past year, SPTN's P/CF has been as high as 6.98 and as low as 3.43, with a median of 4.88.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Spartan Stores's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that SPTN is an impressive value stock right now.


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