Investors looking for stocks in the Mining – Miscellaneous sector might want to consider either Billiton (BBL) or SSR Mining (SSRM). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let’s take a closer look.
We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.
Right now, Billiton is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while SSR Mining has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BBL has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.
BBL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.74, while SSRM has a forward P/E of 15.16. We also note that BBL has a PEG ratio of 2.59. 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. SSRM currently has a PEG ratio of 5.05.
Another notable valuation metric for BBL is its P/B ratio of 1.07. 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, SSRM has a P/B of 1.12.
Based on these metrics and many more, BBL holds a Value grade of A, while SSRM has a Value grade of C.
BBL has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than SSRM, so it seems like value investors will conclude that BBL is the superior option right now.
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