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AMCR or ATR: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Containers - Paper and Packaging sector might want to consider either Amcor (AMCR - Free Report) or AptarGroup (ATR - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Amcor has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while AptarGroup has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AMCR 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 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.

AMCR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.12, while ATR has a forward P/E of 33.19. We also note that AMCR has a PEG ratio of 2.12. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. ATR currently has a PEG ratio of 4.74.

Another notable valuation metric for AMCR is its P/B ratio of 3.98. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ATR has a P/B of 4.24.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AMCR's Value grade of A and ATR's Value grade of C.

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


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