BELFB vs. ROK: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors with an interest in Electronics - Miscellaneous Products stocks have likely encountered both Bel Fuse (BELFB) and Rockwell Automation (ROK). 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Bel Fuse and Rockwell Automation are both sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that these stocks have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture 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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

BELFB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.41, while ROK has a forward P/E of 34.70. We also note that BELFB has a PEG ratio of 1.09. 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. ROK currently has a PEG ratio of 3.81.

Another notable valuation metric for BELFB is its P/B ratio of 3.34. 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, ROK has a P/B of 10.6.

Based on these metrics and many more, BELFB holds a Value grade of B, while ROK has a Value grade of C.

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