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USCR or EXP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates sector have probably already heard of U.S. Concrete and Eagle Materials (EXP - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, U.S. Concrete is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Eagle Materials has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that USCR is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

USCR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.78, while EXP has a forward P/E of 15.94. We also note that USCR has a PEG ratio of 1.58. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. EXP currently has a PEG ratio of 1.59.

Another notable valuation metric for USCR is its P/B ratio of 2.53. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, EXP has a P/B of 3.39.

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

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


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