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BBL vs. BHP: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Mining - Miscellaneous sector have probably already heard of Billiton and BHP (BHP - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Billiton and BHP are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

BBL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.98, while BHP has a forward P/E of 10.96. We also note that BBL has a PEG ratio of 2.17. 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. BHP currently has a PEG ratio of 2.64.

Another notable valuation metric for BBL is its P/B ratio of 1.19. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, BHP has a P/B of 2.25.

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

Both BBL and BHP are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that BBL is the superior value option right now.


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