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Should Value Investors Buy Ahold (ADRNY) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is Ahold (ADRNY - Free Report) . ADRNY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.83. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.12. ADRNY's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.34 and as low as 10.85, with a median of 12.13, all within the past year.

ADRNY is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.51. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. ADRNY's industry currently sports an average PEG of 3.26. Over the last 12 months, ADRNY's PEG has been as high as 2.68 and as low as 1.51, with a median of 1.92.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is ADRNY's P/B ratio of 2.3. 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. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 6.09. Over the past 12 months, ADRNY's P/B has been as high as 2.40 and as low as 1.74, with a median of 1.98.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. ADRNY has a P/S ratio of 0.39. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.89.

Finally, investors should note that ADRNY has a P/CF ratio of 6.28. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. ADRNY's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.25. Over the past 52 weeks, ADRNY's P/CF has been as high as 6.54 and as low as 4.75, with a median of 5.37.

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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