Investors interested in stocks from the Manufacturing - General Industrial sector have probably already heard of Mueller Water Products (MWA) and Nordson (NDSN). 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Currently, both Mueller Water Products and Nordson are holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). 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 are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.
MWA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.11, while NDSN has a forward P/E of 27.81. We also note that MWA has a PEG ratio of 0.87. 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. NDSN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.14.
Another notable valuation metric for MWA is its P/B ratio of 3. 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, NDSN has a P/B of 5.61.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to MWA's Value grade of B and NDSN's Value grade of D.
Both MWA and NDSN are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that MWA is the superior value option right now.
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MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (MWA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Nordson Corporation (NDSN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).