ADRNY vs. CLX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors with an interest in Consumer Products - Staples stocks have likely encountered both Ahold NV (ADRNY) and Clorox (CLX). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Ahold NV has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Clorox has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ADRNY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than CLX has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ADRNY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.77, while CLX has a forward P/E of 17.05. We also note that ADRNY has a PEG ratio of 1.60. 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. CLX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.74.

Another notable valuation metric for ADRNY is its P/B ratio of 2.29. 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, CLX has a P/B of 78.45.

These metrics, and several others, help ADRNY earn a Value grade of A, while CLX has been given a Value grade of C.

ADRNY stands above CLX thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ADRNY 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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