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JNPR vs. MSI: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Wireless Equipment stocks have likely encountered both Juniper Networks (JNPR - Free Report) and Motorola (MSI - 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.

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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Juniper Networks has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Motorola has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that JNPR 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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

JNPR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.63, while MSI has a forward P/E of 25.73. We also note that JNPR has a PEG ratio of 1.96. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. MSI currently has a PEG ratio of 2.86.

Another notable valuation metric for JNPR is its P/B ratio of 2.24. 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, MSI has a P/B of 367.23.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to JNPR's Value grade of B and MSI's Value grade of C.

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


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Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) - free report >>

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