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GIC vs. GWW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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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 offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Global Industrial has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while W.W. Grainger 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 GIC has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

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.

GIC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.82, while GWW has a forward P/E of 22.66. We also note that GIC has a PEG ratio of 1.30. 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 1.74.

Another notable valuation metric for GIC is its P/B ratio of 5.96. 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, GWW has a P/B of 12.09.

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

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


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

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