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GEF or PKG: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Containers - Paper and Packaging sector have probably already heard of Greif (GEF - Free Report) and Packaging Corp. (PKG - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Greif and Packaging Corp. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (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 GEF has 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 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.

GEF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.06, while PKG has a forward P/E of 21.81. We also note that GEF has a PEG ratio of 1.61. 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. PKG currently has a PEG ratio of 7.70.

Another notable valuation metric for GEF 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, PKG has a P/B of 4.01.

Based on these metrics and many more, GEF holds a Value grade of A, while PKG has a Value grade of C.

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


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