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ARREF vs. SCCO: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Mining - Non Ferrous sector have probably already heard of Amerigo Resources (ARREF - Free Report) and Southern Copper (SCCO - 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 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.

Right now, both Amerigo Resources and Southern Copper are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

ARREF currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.94, while SCCO has a forward P/E of 28.09. We also note that ARREF has a PEG ratio of 0.40. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. SCCO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.30.

Another notable valuation metric for ARREF is its P/B ratio of 2. 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, SCCO has a P/B of 12.18.

Based on these metrics and many more, ARREF holds a Value grade of A, while SCCO has a Value grade of F.

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


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Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) - free report >>

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