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BCC or LPX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Building Products - Wood sector might want to consider either Boise Cascade (BCC - Free Report) or Louisiana-Pacific (LPX - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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.

Boise Cascade and Louisiana-Pacific are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #4 (Sell), respectively, right now. This means that BCC's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

BCC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 20.17, while LPX has a forward P/E of 38.47. We also note that BCC has a PEG ratio of 1.11. 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. LPX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.93.

Another notable valuation metric for BCC is its P/B ratio of 1.32. 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, LPX has a P/B of 3.04.

These metrics, and several others, help BCC earn a Value grade of A, while LPX has been given a Value grade of C.

BCC is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that BCC is likely the superior value option right now.

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