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BLD vs. WMS: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Building Products - Miscellaneous sector might want to consider either TopBuild (BLD - Free Report) or Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Both TopBuild and Advanced Drainage Systems have a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

BLD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.26, while WMS has a forward P/E of 24.51. We also note that BLD has a PEG ratio of 1.83. 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. WMS currently has a PEG ratio of 2.16.

Another notable valuation metric for BLD is its P/B ratio of 5. 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, WMS has a P/B of 10.26.

These metrics, and several others, help BLD earn a Value grade of B, while WMS has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (WMS) - free report >>

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