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CR vs. HON: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Diversified Operations stocks are likely familiar with Crane (CR - Free Report) and Honeywell (HON - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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.

Currently, Crane has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Honeywell has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that CR's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

CR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.81, while HON has a forward P/E of 19.57. We also note that CR has a PEG ratio of 1.65. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HON currently has a PEG ratio of 1.85.

Another notable valuation metric for CR is its P/B ratio of 3.76. 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, HON has a P/B of 6.66.

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

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


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