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AESI vs. WHD: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States sector might want to consider either Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (AESI - Free Report) or Cactus, Inc. (WHD - 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 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.

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Cactus, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that AESI has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

AESI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.77, while WHD has a forward P/E of 15.12. We also note that AESI has a PEG ratio of 0.49. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. WHD currently has a PEG ratio of 7.79.

Another notable valuation metric for AESI is its P/B ratio of 2.31. 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, WHD has a P/B of 3.50.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AESI's Value grade of A and WHD's Value grade of D.

AESI is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that AESI is likely the superior value option right now.


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