Back to top

Image: Bigstock

BCC vs. LPX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Building Products - Wood stocks are likely familiar with Boise Cascade (BCC - Free Report) and Louisiana-Pacific (LPX - 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.

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.

Boise Cascade and Louisiana-Pacific are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that BCC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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 19.66, while LPX has a forward P/E of 38.58. We also note that BCC has a PEG ratio of 1.04. 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. LPX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.34.

Another notable valuation metric for BCC is its P/B ratio of 1.34. 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, LPX has a P/B of 2.9.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BCC's Value grade of A and LPX's Value grade of D.

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

Published in