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Should Value Investors Buy Ahold (ADRNY) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company value investors might notice is Ahold (ADRNY - Free Report) . ADRNY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 12.12, which compares to its industry's average of 18.59. Over the last 12 months, ADRNY's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.17 and as low as 9.92, with a median of 10.89.

Investors should also note that ADRNY holds a PEG ratio of 1.96. 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. ADRNY's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.04. ADRNY's PEG has been as high as 5.04 and as low as 1.83, with a median of 3.08, all within the past year.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is ADRNY's P/B ratio of 1.99. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.62. ADRNY's P/B has been as high as 2 and as low as 1.61, with a median of 1.73, over the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. ADRNY has a P/S ratio of 0.33. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.69.

Finally, investors should note that ADRNY has a P/CF ratio of 5.38. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 21.47. Within the past 12 months, ADRNY's P/CF has been as high as 5.40 and as low as 4.08, with a median of 4.59.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Ahold'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 ADRNY is an impressive value stock right now.


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