FMX vs. KO: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Beverages - Soft drinks sector might want to consider either Fomento Economico (FMX) or Coca-Cola (KO). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Fomento Economico has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Coca-Cola has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This means that FMX'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 analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

FMX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.23, while KO has a forward P/E of 23.37. We also note that FMX has a PEG ratio of 0.78. 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. KO currently has a PEG ratio of 3.19.

Another notable valuation metric for FMX is its P/B ratio of 2.21. 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. By comparison, KO has a P/B of 9.47.

These metrics, and several others, help FMX earn a Value grade of B, while KO has been given a Value grade of F.

FMX stands above KO thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that FMX is the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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