MG or TER: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors with an interest in Electronics - Miscellaneous Products stocks have likely encountered both Mistras (MG) and Teradyne (TER). 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.

Both Mistras and Teradyne have a Zacks Rank of #2 (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 just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

MG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.29, while TER has a forward P/E of 47.78. We also note that MG has a PEG ratio of 0.89. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. TER currently has a PEG ratio of 1.75.

Another notable valuation metric for MG is its P/B ratio of 1.64. 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, TER has a P/B of 9.66.

These metrics, and several others, help MG earn a Value grade of A, while TER has been given a Value grade of D.

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

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

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