When you spend a lot of time looking at international stocks, it doesn't take long to appreciate the differences in the levels of disclosure from one company or country to the next.

Following Asian and some Latin American stocks can be an exercise in frustration, while some European companies offer you better information than American companies. And so while the solid amount of information that Belgium's Delhaize Group (NYSE:DEG) gives investors doesn't automatically make it a great buy, it's at least easier to arrive at that conclusion.

If you live in the Midwest or on the West Coast, there's no particular reason you'd be familiar with Delhaize, but if you live on the East Coast you've almost certainly seen a Food Lion or two. Delhaize is a global operator of supermarkets, including Food Lion in the U.S. and Delhaize le Lion in Belgium, as well as stores in Greece and Indonesia.

Operating in the regions it does, Delhaize has to face down competitors such as Kroger (NYSE:KR) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) in the U.S. and Carrefour in Europe. But as they say in boxing, you gotta beat the best if you want to be the best. And Delhaize has been holding its own for the most part -- it is the seventh-largest operator in the U.S. (third on the East Coast) and the second largest in Belgium.

And the financial performance here is actually pretty solid. Revenue was up a bit less than 5% on a constant currency basis, with same-store sales up 1.7% in the U.S. and 0.2% in Belgium. Oddly enough, while Delhaize mostly operates on a low-price basis in the U.S. and its same-store sales growth is lower than Kroger's, it has very solid margins relative to the competition. And given that the U.S. stores currently carry less private label products than the Belgian stores, I think there could be some additional margin upside over time.

Those more interested in relative valuation (as opposed to discounted cash flow) might want to take a closer look at Delhaize. This one seems to be trading at a discount to the likes of Kroger and Safeway (NYSE:SWY), and may be worth watching.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).