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GIC vs. GWW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Industrial Services sector might want to consider either Global Industrial (GIC - Free Report) or W.W. Grainger (GWW - 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.

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, Global Industrial is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while W.W. Grainger has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that GIC has an improving earnings 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.

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.

GIC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.65, while GWW has a forward P/E of 23.97. We also note that GIC has a PEG ratio of 1.17. 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. GWW currently has a PEG ratio of 2.75.

Another notable valuation metric for GIC is its P/B ratio of 4.6. 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, GWW has a P/B of 11.15.

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

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


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W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) - free report >>

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