Back to top

Image: Bigstock

GIC or GWW: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in stocks from the Industrial Services sector have probably already heard of Global Industrial (GIC - Free Report) and W.W. Grainger (GWW - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Global Industrial and W.W. Grainger are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that GIC has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

GIC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.77, while GWW has a forward P/E of 22.06. We also note that GIC has a PEG ratio of 1.24. 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. GWW currently has a PEG ratio of 1.70.

Another notable valuation metric for GIC is its P/B ratio of 5.65. 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, GWW has a P/B of 11.77.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GIC's Value grade of B and GWW's Value grade of C.

GIC stands above GWW thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that GIC is the superior value option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) - free report >>

Global Industrial Company (GIC) - free report >>

Published in