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FLS vs. NDSN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Manufacturing - General Industrial stocks are likely familiar with Flowserve (FLS - Free Report) and Nordson (NDSN - 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.

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 proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Flowserve has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Nordson has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that FLS's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its 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.

FLS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.93, while NDSN has a forward P/E of 26.13. We also note that FLS has a PEG ratio of 0.98. 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. NDSN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.01.

Another notable valuation metric for FLS is its P/B ratio of 2.77. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, NDSN has a P/B of 5.49.

Based on these metrics and many more, FLS holds a Value grade of B, while NDSN has a Value grade of D.

FLS stands above NDSN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that FLS is the superior value option right now.


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