CIB vs. ITT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Investors looking for stocks in the Diversified Operations sector might want to consider either Grupo Cibest (CIB) or ITT (ITT). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Grupo Cibest has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while ITT has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CIB is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

CIB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.92, while ITT has a forward P/E of 24.41. We also note that CIB has a PEG ratio of 0.99. 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. ITT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.64.

Another notable valuation metric for CIB is its P/B ratio of 2.25. 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, ITT has a P/B of 5.32.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to CIB's Value grade of B and ITT's Value grade of D.

CIB 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 CIB is likely the superior value option right now.

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

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