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ITRI vs. TER: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Testing Equipment sector might want to consider either Itron (ITRI - Free Report) or Teradyne (TER - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

Itron and Teradyne are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that ITRI 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 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 highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

ITRI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 25.76, while TER has a forward P/E of 30.75. We also note that ITRI has a PEG ratio of 1.12. 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. TER currently has a PEG ratio of 5.13.

Another notable valuation metric for ITRI is its P/B ratio of 2.35. 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, TER has a P/B of 5.49.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ITRI's Value grade of B and TER's Value grade of C.

ITRI 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 ITRI is likely the superior value option right now.


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