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Should Value Investors Buy These Construction Stocks?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is D.R. Horton (DHI - Free Report) . DHI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 4.79, while its industry has an average P/E of 5.15. Over the past 52 weeks, DHI's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.24 and as low as 4.79, with a median of 7.42.

Investors will also notice that DHI has a PEG ratio of 0.46. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. DHI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.48. Within the past year, DHI's PEG has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.46, with a median of 0.73.

If you're looking for another solid Building Products - Home Builders value stock, take a look at PulteGroup (PHM - Free Report) . PHM is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

PulteGroup is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 4.31 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 0.47. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 5.15 and average PEG ratio of 0.48.

PHM's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 9.56 and as low as 4.31, with a median of 6.35, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.01 and as low as 0.24, with a median of 0.50, all within the past year.

PulteGroup sports a P/B ratio of 1.47 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.09. In the past 52 weeks, PHM's P/B has been as high as 2.45, as low as 1.47, with a median of 1.94.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in D.R. Horton and PulteGroup strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, DHI and PHM look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) - free report >>

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