Investors with an interest in Engineering - R and D Services stocks have likely encountered both M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI) and Alfa Laval AB Unsponsored ADR (ALFVY). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
M-tron Industries, Inc. and Alfa Laval AB Unsponsored ADR are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that MPTI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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 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.
MPTI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.79, while ALFVY has a forward P/E of 22.69. We also note that MPTI has a PEG ratio of 0.78. 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. ALFVY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.67.
Another notable valuation metric for MPTI is its P/B ratio of 4.06. 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, ALFVY has a P/B of 4.56.
These metrics, and several others, help MPTI earn a Value grade of B, while ALFVY has been given a Value grade of D.
MPTI 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 MPTI is likely the superior value option right now.
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M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI): Free Stock Analysis Report Alfa Laval AB Unsponsored ADR (ALFVY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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