JSAIY vs. WMT: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Retail - Supermarkets sector have probably already heard of 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.

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.

J. Sainsbury PLC and Walmart are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that JSAIY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than WMT has recently. 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.

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 13.80, while WMT has a forward P/E of 39.39. We also note that JSAIY has a PEG ratio of 3.86. 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. WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.83.

Another notable valuation metric for JSAIY is its P/B ratio of 1.24. 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 8.47.

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

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

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

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