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TGLS vs. FAST: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Building Products - Retail stocks have likely encountered both Tecnoglass (TGLS - Free Report) and Fastenal (FAST - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Tecnoglass has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Fastenal has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that TGLS has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

TGLS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.12, while FAST has a forward P/E of 33.77. We also note that TGLS has a PEG ratio of 0.46. 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. FAST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.75.

Another notable valuation metric for TGLS is its P/B ratio of 1.95. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, FAST has a P/B of 9.91.

These metrics, and several others, help TGLS earn a Value grade of A, while FAST has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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