Back to top

Image: Bigstock

NVT vs. LFUS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Electronics - Miscellaneous Components stocks are likely familiar with nVent Electric (NVT - Free Report) and Littelfuse (LFUS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, nVent Electric is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Littelfuse 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 NVT is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.

NVT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.36, while LFUS has a forward P/E of 43.58. We also note that NVT has a PEG ratio of 2.99. 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. LFUS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.63.

Another notable valuation metric for NVT is its P/B ratio of 1.27. 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, LFUS has a P/B of 3.06.

These metrics, and several others, help NVT earn a Value grade of B, while LFUS has been given a Value grade of C.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Littelfuse, Inc. (LFUS) - free report >>

nVent Electric PLC (NVT) - free report >>

Published in