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BAESY or HEI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in Aerospace - Defense Equipment stocks are likely familiar with Bae Systems PLC (BAESY - Free Report) and Heico Corporation (HEI - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Bae Systems PLC has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Heico Corporation has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that BAESY has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

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.

BAESY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.15, while HEI has a forward P/E of 58.63. We also note that BAESY has a PEG ratio of 4.52. 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. HEI currently has a PEG ratio of 4.87.

Another notable valuation metric for BAESY is its P/B ratio of 3.14. 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, HEI has a P/B of 8.77.

These metrics, and several others, help BAESY earn a Value grade of B, while HEI has been given a Value grade of D.

BAESY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than HEI, so it seems like value investors will conclude that BAESY is the superior option right now.


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