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GEF or PKG: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Containers - Paper and Packaging sector might want to consider either Greif (GEF - Free Report) or Packaging Corp. (PKG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Greif has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Packaging Corp. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that GEF has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

GEF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.70, while PKG has a forward P/E of 22.51. We also note that GEF has a PEG ratio of 1.77. 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. PKG currently has a PEG ratio of 4.50.

Another notable valuation metric for GEF is its P/B ratio of 1.50. 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, PKG has a P/B of 4.13.

Based on these metrics and many more, GEF holds a Value grade of A, while PKG has a Value grade of C.

GEF has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than PKG, so it seems like value investors will conclude that GEF is the superior option right now.


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