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HDLMY or WMS: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Building Products - Miscellaneous stocks have likely encountered both Heidelberg Materials AG Unsponsored ADR (HDLMY - Free Report) and Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS - 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.

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 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.

Both Heidelberg Materials AG Unsponsored ADR and Advanced Drainage Systems have a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

HDLMY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.23, while WMS has a forward P/E of 20.23. We also note that HDLMY has a PEG ratio of 1.18. 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. WMS currently has a PEG ratio of 1.72.

Another notable valuation metric for HDLMY is its P/B ratio of 2.07. 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, WMS has a P/B of 5.98.

Based on these metrics and many more, HDLMY holds a Value grade of B, while WMS has a Value grade of C.

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


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Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (WMS) - free report >>

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