Back to top

Image: Bigstock

CBPX vs. PGTI: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Building Products - Miscellaneous sector might want to consider either Continental Building Products or PGT . 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 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.

Currently, both Continental Building Products and PGT are holding a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

CBPX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.86, while PGTI has a forward P/E of 19.23. We also note that CBPX has a PEG ratio of 0.63. 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. PGTI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.

Another notable valuation metric for CBPX is its P/B ratio of 4.28. 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, PGTI has a P/B of 5.16.

These metrics, and several others, help CBPX earn a Value grade of B, while PGTI has been given a Value grade of C.

Both CBPX and PGTI are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that CBPX is the superior value option right now.