Investors with an interest in Building Products - Miscellaneous stocks have likely encountered both Jacobs Solutions (J) and Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS). 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, Jacobs Solutions has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Advanced Drainage Systems has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). This means that J's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.
J currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.93, while WMS has a forward P/E of 21.22. We also note that J has a PEG ratio of 1.26. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. WMS currently has a PEG ratio of 1.50.
Another notable valuation metric for J is its P/B ratio of 4.66. 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, WMS has a P/B of 5.75.
Based on these metrics and many more, J holds a Value grade of B, while WMS has a Value grade of D.
J sticks out from WMS in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that J is the better option right now.
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