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PHM or NVR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Building Products - Home Builders stocks are likely familiar with PulteGroup (PHM - Free Report) and NVR (NVR - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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.

Right now, PulteGroup is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while NVR has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that PHM 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 analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

PHM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.77, while NVR has a forward P/E of 16.91. We also note that PHM has a PEG ratio of 1.60. 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. NVR currently has a PEG ratio of 10.37.

Another notable valuation metric for PHM is its P/B ratio of 1.85. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NVR has a P/B of 5.01.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PHM's Value grade of B and NVR's Value grade of C.

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

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