Back to top

Image: Bigstock

GEF or ATR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Containers - Paper and Packaging stocks are likely familiar with Greif (GEF - Free Report) and AptarGroup (ATR - 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 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.

Currently, Greif has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while AptarGroup has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that GEF likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ATR has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

GEF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.66, while ATR has a forward P/E of 25.35. We also note that GEF has a PEG ratio of 0.87. 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. ATR currently has a PEG ratio of 3.62.

Another notable valuation metric for GEF is its P/B ratio of 1.88. 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, ATR has a P/B of 3.32.

Based on these metrics and many more, GEF holds a Value grade of A, while ATR has a Value grade of C.

GEF has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ATR, so it seems like value investors will conclude that GEF is the superior option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


AptarGroup, Inc. (ATR) - free report >>

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - free report >>

Published in