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EQPT vs. FAST: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Industrial Services stocks are likely familiar with EquipmentShare.com Inc. (EQPT - Free Report) and Fastenal (FAST - 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.

Currently, EquipmentShare.com Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Fastenal has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that EQPT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than FAST has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

EQPT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 37.16, while FAST has a forward P/E of 38.21. We also note that EQPT has a PEG ratio of 1.86. 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. FAST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.00.

Another notable valuation metric for EQPT is its P/B ratio of 4.31. 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, FAST has a P/B of 13.57.

These metrics, and several others, help EQPT earn a Value grade of B, while FAST has been given a Value grade of D.

EQPT stands above FAST thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that EQPT is the superior value option right now.

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