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SON vs. PKG: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Containers - Paper and Packaging stocks are likely familiar with Sonoco (SON - Free Report) and Packaging Corp. (PKG - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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.

Sonoco and Packaging Corp. are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 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.

SON currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.53, while PKG has a forward P/E of 24.57. We also note that SON has a PEG ratio of 2.08. 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. PKG currently has a PEG ratio of 4.21.

Another notable valuation metric for SON is its P/B ratio of 2.16. 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, PKG has a P/B of 4.66.

These metrics, and several others, help SON earn a Value grade of A, while PKG has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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