CX or MLM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors looking for stocks in the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates sector might want to consider either Cemex (CX) or Martin Marietta (MLM). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Cemex and Martin Marietta are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings 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.

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 10.77, while MLM has a forward P/E of 28.66. We also note that CX has a PEG ratio of 0.86. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock'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 0.87. 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 3.95.

These metrics, and several others, help CX earn a Value grade of A, while MLM has been given a Value grade of C.

Both CX and MLM are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that CX is the superior value option right now.

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Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (CX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (MLM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Zacks Investment Research

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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