Investors interested in Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates stocks are likely familiar with Cemex (CX) and Martin Marietta (MLM). 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.
There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
Right now, Cemex is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Martin Marietta has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than MLM has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
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.
CX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.54, while MLM has a forward P/E of 24.99. We also note that CX has a PEG ratio of 0.55. 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. MLM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.31.
Another notable valuation metric for CX is its P/B ratio of 0.80. 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, MLM has a P/B of 3.62.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CX's Value grade of A and MLM's Value grade of C.
CX stands above MLM thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that CX is the superior value option right now.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
