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AZZ or ABBNY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Manufacturing - Electronics sector might want to consider either AZZ (AZZ - Free Report) or ABB (ABBNY - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, AZZ has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while ABB has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that AZZ likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ABBNY has recently. 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 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.

AZZ currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.52, while ABBNY has a forward P/E of 24.21. We also note that AZZ has a PEG ratio of 1.11. 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. ABBNY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.90.

Another notable valuation metric for AZZ is its P/B ratio of 2.69. 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, ABBNY has a P/B of 7.01.

Based on these metrics and many more, AZZ holds a Value grade of B, while ABBNY has a Value grade of C.

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


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