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HCMLY or MAS: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Building Products - Miscellaneous stocks are likely familiar with Holcim Ltd Unsponsored ADR (HCMLY - Free Report) and Masco (MAS - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. 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, Holcim Ltd Unsponsored ADR has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Masco 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 HCMLY has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

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.

HCMLY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.02, while MAS has a forward P/E of 16.74. We also note that HCMLY has a PEG ratio of 3.52. 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. MAS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.78.

Another notable valuation metric for HCMLY is its P/B ratio of 1.48. 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, MAS has a P/B of 100.98.

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

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


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