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SSUMY vs. ITT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Diversified Operations sector have probably already heard of Sumitomo Corp. (SSUMY - Free Report) and ITT (ITT - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Currently, Sumitomo Corp. has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while ITT has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that SSUMY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ITT has recently. 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 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.

SSUMY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 4.97, while ITT has a forward P/E of 17.44. We also note that SSUMY has a PEG ratio of 1.09. 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. ITT currently has a PEG ratio of 1.41.

Another notable valuation metric for SSUMY 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 3.40.

These metrics, and several others, help SSUMY earn a Value grade of A, while ITT has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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