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TGLS or FAST: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Building Products - Retail sector have probably already heard of Tecnoglass (TGLS - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Tecnoglass is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Fastenal 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 TGLS 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 try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

TGLS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.22, while FAST has a forward P/E of 33.75. We also note that TGLS has a PEG ratio of 0.66. 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. FAST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.75.

Another notable valuation metric for TGLS is its P/B ratio of 1.74. 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, FAST has a P/B of 9.99.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to TGLS's Value grade of A and FAST's Value grade of C.

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


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