ABEV or DEO: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in stocks from the Beverages - Alcohol sector have probably already heard of Ambev (ABEV) and Diageo (DEO). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Ambev and Diageo are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. This means that ABEV'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 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.

ABEV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.46, while DEO has a forward P/E of 14.85. We also note that ABEV has a PEG ratio of 2.75. 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. DEO currently has a PEG ratio of 4.38.

Another notable valuation metric for ABEV is its P/B ratio of 2.34. 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, DEO has a P/B of 4.11.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ABEV's Value grade of B and DEO's Value grade of D.

ABEV 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 ABEV 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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