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PHM or NVR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Building Products - Home Builders sector might want to consider either PulteGroup (PHM - Free Report) or NVR (NVR - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

PulteGroup and NVR are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that PHM's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

PHM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.62, while NVR has a forward P/E of 15.27. We also note that PHM has a PEG ratio of 0.49. 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. NVR currently has a PEG ratio of 3.13.

Another notable valuation metric for PHM is its P/B ratio of 2.17. 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, NVR has a P/B of 5.50.

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

PHM sticks out from NVR in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that PHM is the better option right now.

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