Investors looking for stocks in the Internet - Commerce sector might want to consider either JD.com, Inc. (JD) or eBay (EBAY). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.
There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
Right now, JD.com, Inc. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while eBay has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that JD's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.
JD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.82, while EBAY has a forward P/E of 12.28. We also note that JD has a PEG ratio of 0.27. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. EBAY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.91.
Another notable valuation metric for JD is its P/B ratio of 1.49. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, EBAY has a P/B of 6.05.
These metrics, and several others, help JD earn a Value grade of A, while EBAY has been given a Value grade of C.
JD has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than EBAY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that JD is the superior option right now.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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