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NOK vs. IDCC: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Wireless Equipment sector might want to consider either Nokia (NOK - Free Report) or InterDigital (IDCC - 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.

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.

Nokia has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while InterDigital has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that NOK's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

NOK currently has a forward P/E ratio of 17.48, while IDCC has a forward P/E of 312.75. We also note that NOK has a PEG ratio of 11.73. 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. IDCC currently has a PEG ratio of 20.85.

Another notable valuation metric for NOK is its P/B ratio of 1.74. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, IDCC has a P/B of 3.16.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NOK's Value grade of B and IDCC's Value grade of C.

NOK 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 NOK is likely the superior value option right now.


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