JSAIY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors interested in Retail - Supermarkets stocks are likely familiar with J. Sainsbury PLC (JSAIY) and Walmart (WMT). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

J. Sainsbury PLC and Walmart are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that JSAIY's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

JSAIY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.31, while WMT has a forward P/E of 37.59. We also note that JSAIY has a PEG ratio of 3.73. 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. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.70.

Another notable valuation metric for JSAIY is its P/B ratio of 1.15. 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, WMT has a P/B of 8.64.

These metrics, and several others, help JSAIY earn a Value grade of A, while WMT has been given a Value grade of C.

JSAIY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that JSAIY is likely the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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