Yahoo Finance CX or MLM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors with an interest in Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates stocks have likely encountered both Cemex (CX) and Martin Marietta (MLM). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, Cemex has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Martin Marietta has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that CX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than MLM 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.
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.
CX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.85, while MLM has a forward P/E of 23.83. We also note that CX has a PEG ratio of 0.57. 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. MLM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.83.
Another notable valuation metric for CX is its P/B ratio of 0.80. 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, MLM has a P/B of 3.06.
These metrics, and several others, help CX earn a Value grade of A, while MLM has been given a Value grade of C.
CX 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 CX is likely the superior value option right now.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (CX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (MLM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
