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NX vs. ROAD: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Building Products - Miscellaneous sector have probably already heard of Quanex Building Products (NX - Free Report) and Construction Partners (ROAD - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Quanex Building Products is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Construction Partners has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that NX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ROAD has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

NX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.57, while ROAD has a forward P/E of 46.91. We also note that NX has a PEG ratio of 0.47. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ROAD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.18.

Another notable valuation metric for NX is its P/B ratio of 0.81. 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, ROAD has a P/B of 6.28.

Based on these metrics and many more, NX holds a Value grade of A, while ROAD has a Value grade of D.

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


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Quanex Building Products Corporation (NX) - free report >>

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