Is Brinker International (EAT) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Brinker International (EAT) is a stock many investors are watching right now. EAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

We also note that EAT holds a PEG ratio of 1.20. 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. EAT's industry has an average PEG of 2.34 right now. EAT's PEG has been as high as 1.85 and as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.25, all within the past year.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. EAT has a P/S ratio of 0.36. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.81.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that EAT has a P/CF ratio of 4.62. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. EAT's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.37. Over the past year, EAT's P/CF has been as high as 6.16 and as low as 4.44, with a median of 5.44.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Brinker International is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, EAT sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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