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FLEX or TRMB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products sector might want to consider either Flex (FLEX - Free Report) or Trimble Navigation (TRMB - Free Report) . 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Flex has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Trimble Navigation has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that FLEX has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

FLEX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 8.80, while TRMB has a forward P/E of 23.43. We also note that FLEX has a PEG ratio of 0.69. 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. TRMB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.85.

Another notable valuation metric for FLEX is its P/B ratio of 2.17. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, TRMB has a P/B of 3.98.

Based on these metrics and many more, FLEX holds a Value grade of A, while TRMB has a Value grade of D.

FLEX sticks out from TRMB in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that FLEX is the better option right now.


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