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VRTV vs. KLBAY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Paper and Related Products sector might want to consider either Veritiv or Klabin SA (KLBAY - 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.

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.

Veritiv has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Klabin SA has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that VRTV has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

VRTV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.09, while KLBAY has a forward P/E of 8.55. We also note that VRTV has a PEG ratio of 0.39. 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. KLBAY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61.

Another notable valuation metric for VRTV is its P/B ratio of 2.04. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, KLBAY has a P/B of 2.98.

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

VRTV is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that VRTV is likely the superior value option right now.


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