Investors with an interest in Retail - Apparel and Shoes stocks have likely encountered both Gap (GAP) and Boot Barn (BOOT). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Right now, Gap is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Boot Barn has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). This means that GAP's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.
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.
GAP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.20, while BOOT has a forward P/E of 26.99. We also note that GAP has a PEG ratio of 1.01. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. BOOT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.51.
Another notable valuation metric for GAP is its P/B ratio of 2.72. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, BOOT has a P/B of 4.51.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GAP's Value grade of A and BOOT's Value grade of C.
GAP stands above BOOT thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that GAP is the superior value option right now.
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