GFI vs. FNV: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Mining - Gold sector might want to consider either Gold Fields (GFI) or Franco-Nevada (FNV). 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.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Gold Fields has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Franco-Nevada has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that GFI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than FNV has recently. 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.

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.

GFI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.09, while FNV has a forward P/E of 41.93. We also note that GFI has a PEG ratio of 0.39. 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. FNV currently has a PEG ratio of 2.68.

Another notable valuation metric for GFI is its P/B ratio of 5.56. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, FNV has a P/B of 5.95.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GFI's Value grade of B and FNV's Value grade of F.

GFI 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 GFI is likely the superior value option right now.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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