APTV or ATMU: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors looking for stocks in the Automotive - Original Equipment sector might want to consider either Aptiv PLC (APTV) or Atmus Filtration Technologies (ATMU). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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

Aptiv PLC and Atmus Filtration Technologies are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

APTV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.30, while ATMU has a forward P/E of 19.42. We also note that APTV has a PEG ratio of 1.00. 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. ATMU currently has a PEG ratio of 3.35.

Another notable valuation metric for APTV is its P/B ratio of 1.97. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, ATMU has a P/B of 13.24.

Based on these metrics and many more, APTV holds a Value grade of A, while ATMU has a Value grade of C.

Both APTV and ATMU are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that APTV 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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