MPTI vs. BCKIY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Engineering - R and D Services sector might want to consider either M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI) or Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, M-tron Industries, Inc. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Babcock International Group PLC has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that MPTI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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 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 BCKIY has a forward P/E of 22.50. We also note that MPTI has a PEG ratio of 0.78. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BCKIY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.49.

Another notable valuation metric for MPTI is its P/B ratio of 4.06. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, BCKIY has a P/B of 10.83.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MPTI's Value grade of B and BCKIY's Value grade of C.

MPTI stands above BCKIY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that MPTI is the superior value option right now.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

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

Zacks Investment Research