COLM vs. LULU: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors with an interest in Textile - Apparel stocks have likely encountered both Columbia Sportswear (COLM) and Lululemon (LULU). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Columbia Sportswear has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Lululemon has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that COLM likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than LULU has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

COLM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.11, while LULU has a forward P/E of 52.60. We also note that COLM has a PEG ratio of 0.63. 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. LULU currently has a PEG ratio of 2.63.

Another notable valuation metric for COLM is its P/B ratio of 3.45. 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, LULU has a P/B of 19.51.

Based on these metrics and many more, COLM holds a Value grade of B, while LULU has a Value grade of D.

COLM sticks out from LULU in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that COLM is the better option right now.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.