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GLDD vs. DY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Building Products - Heavy Construction sector have probably already heard of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD - Free Report) and Dycom Industries (DY - 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.

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.

Both Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Dycom Industries 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 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.

GLDD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.18, while DY has a forward P/E of 28.34. We also note that GLDD has a PEG ratio of 0.93. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. DY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.54.

Another notable valuation metric for GLDD is its P/B ratio of 1.56. 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, DY has a P/B of 6.19.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GLDD's Value grade of A and DY's Value grade of C.

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


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