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ACA vs. SSD: 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 Arcosa (ACA - Free Report) or Simpson Manufacturing (SSD - 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 favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Arcosa and Simpson Manufacturing are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ACA likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SSD has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ACA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.70, while SSD has a forward P/E of 17.40. We also note that ACA has a PEG ratio of 1.20. 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. SSD currently has a PEG ratio of 3.48.

Another notable valuation metric for ACA is its P/B ratio of 0.84. 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, SSD has a P/B of 3.03.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ACA's Value grade of A and SSD's Value grade of D.

ACA stands above SSD thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ACA is the superior value option right now.


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Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. (SSD) - free report >>

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