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

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Investors looking for stocks in the Aerospace - Defense Equipment sector might want to consider either Bae Systems PLC (BAESY - Free Report) or 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Bae Systems PLC is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Heico Corporation 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 BAESY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

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 13.26, while HEI has a forward P/E of 50.98. We also note that BAESY has a PEG ratio of 2.52. 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. HEI currently has a PEG ratio of 4.45.

Another notable valuation metric for BAESY is its P/B ratio of 2.72. 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, HEI has a P/B of 7.72.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BAESY's Value grade of A and HEI's 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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