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WDC vs. PSTG: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Computer- Storage Devices stocks are likely familiar with Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) and Pure Storage (PSTG - 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Western Digital has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Pure Storage has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that WDC is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

WDC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.78, while PSTG has a forward P/E of 167.63. We also note that WDC has a PEG ratio of 0.30. 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. PSTG currently has a PEG ratio of 11.18.

Another notable valuation metric for WDC is its P/B ratio of 2.23. 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, PSTG has a P/B of 10.48.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to WDC's Value grade of A and PSTG's Value grade of F.

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


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