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CR vs. HON: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Diversified Operations sector might want to consider either Crane (CR - Free Report) or Honeywell International Inc. (HON - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Crane and Honeywell International Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

CR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.68, while HON has a forward P/E of 22.96. We also note that CR has a PEG ratio of 1.54. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HON currently has a PEG ratio of 2.38.

Another notable valuation metric for CR is its P/B ratio of 3.45. 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, HON has a P/B of 7.03.

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

CR stands above HON thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that CR is the superior value option right now.


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