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GM vs. TSLA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Automotive - Domestic sector might want to consider either General Motors (GM - Free Report) or Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) . 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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, General Motors is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Tesla has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that GM likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than TSLA has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

GM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.08, while TSLA has a forward P/E of 102.62. We also note that GM has a PEG ratio of 0.65. 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. TSLA currently has a PEG ratio of 4.34.

Another notable valuation metric for GM is its P/B ratio of 0.71. 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, TSLA has a P/B of 13.23.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to GM's Value grade of A and TSLA's Value grade of F.

GM 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 GM is likely the superior value option right now.


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