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

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Investors looking for stocks in the Building Products - Retail sector might want to consider either Builders FirstSource (BLDR - Free Report) or Fastenal (FAST - 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.

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

Builders FirstSource and Fastenal are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

BLDR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.88, while FAST has a forward P/E of 35.86. We also note that BLDR has a PEG ratio of 1.26. 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. FAST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.98.

Another notable valuation metric for BLDR is its P/B ratio of 5.44. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, FAST has a P/B of 13.16.

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

Both BLDR and FAST are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that BLDR is the superior value option right now.


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