Investors interested in stocks from the Mining – Miscellaneous sector have probably already heard of BHP (BHP) and MP Materials Corp. (MP). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We’ll need to take a closer look.
Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
BHP and MP Materials Corp. are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.
Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.
BHP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.16, while MP has a forward P/E of 28.85. We also note that BHP has a PEG ratio of 2.72. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company’s expected EPS growth rate. MP currently has a PEG ratio of 4.32.
Another notable valuation metric for BHP is its P/B ratio of 1.83. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock’s market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, MP has a P/B of 7.05.
These metrics, and several others, help BHP earn a Value grade of B, while MP has been given a Value grade of F.
Both BHP and MP are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that BHP is the superior value option right now.
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