Investors interested in Retail - Restaurants stocks are likely familiar with BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) and Shake Shack (SHAK). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Currently, BJ's Restaurants has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Shake Shack has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BJRI has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.
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.
BJRI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 29.22, while SHAK has a forward P/E of 49.56. We also note that BJRI has a PEG ratio of 2.09. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. SHAK currently has a PEG ratio of 4.33.
Another notable valuation metric for BJRI is its P/B ratio of 3.67. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SHAK has a P/B of 4.32.
These metrics, and several others, help BJRI earn a Value grade of B, while SHAK has been given a Value grade of D.
BJRI has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than SHAK, so it seems like value investors will conclude that BJRI is the superior option right now.
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BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Shake Shack, Inc. (SHAK): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).