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Are Investors Undervaluing The Kroger Co. (KR) Right Now?

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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.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of 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 stock to keep an eye on is The Kroger Co. (KR - Free Report) . KR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 12.04, which compares to its industry's average of 28.02. KR's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.92 and as low as 9.49, with a median of 11.48, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that KR has a P/B ratio of 3.19. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 6.90. Over the past year, KR's P/B has been as high as 3.59 and as low as 2.73, with a median of 3.02.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that KR has a P/CF ratio of 6.09. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 22.21. Within the past 12 months, KR's P/CF has been as high as 7.09 and as low as 5.33, with a median of 6.03.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in The Kroger Co.'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 KR is an impressive value stock right now.


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