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PHG vs. TRMB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Electronics - Miscellaneous Products stocks have likely encountered both Royal Philips (PHG - Free Report) and Trimble Navigation (TRMB - 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Royal Philips has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Trimble Navigation has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PHG likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than TRMB has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

PHG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.75, while TRMB has a forward P/E of 21.12. We also note that PHG has a PEG ratio of 1.27. 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. TRMB currently has a PEG ratio of 2.01.

Another notable valuation metric for PHG is its P/B ratio of 2.88. 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, TRMB has a P/B of 4.04.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PHG's Value grade of B and TRMB's Value grade of D.

PHG 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 PHG is likely the superior value option right now.


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Koninklijke Philips N.V. (PHG) - free report >>

Trimble Inc. (TRMB) - free report >>

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