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FTV vs. A: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Electronics - Testing Equipment sector might want to consider either Fortive (FTV - Free Report) or Agilent Technologies (A - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Fortive has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Agilent Technologies has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that FTV has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

FTV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.72, while A has a forward P/E of 23.84. We also note that FTV has a PEG ratio of 2.60. 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. A currently has a PEG ratio of 2.98.

Another notable valuation metric for FTV is its P/B ratio of 2.51. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, A has a P/B of 6.53.

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

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


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