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MARUY vs. ITT: 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 Marubeni Corp. (MARUY - Free Report) or ITT (ITT - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Marubeni Corp. and ITT are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that MARUY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ITT has recently. 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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

MARUY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 3.59, while ITT has a forward P/E of 16.08. We also note that MARUY has a PEG ratio of 0.44. 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. ITT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.40.

Another notable valuation metric for MARUY is its P/B ratio of 0.73. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ITT has a P/B of 2.94.

Based on these metrics and many more, MARUY holds a Value grade of A, while ITT has a Value grade of C.

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


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